Sandor Halmosi [Hungary]

 

Scrum 

Standing up every morning in the trench
and reporting on the day before. Agile

and emotionless, we get from A to B,

taking both the quiet and the last bastions
of decency. Removing the very last shirt

off our backs while artificial intelligence
works in our stead. Give us this day our
daily war. 57. Newspapers tell lies,

and writers, public figures, newsreaders,
the weather, international organisations,
you also lie and I do not always tell the

truth myself. We like to live this way.
The best of all possible worlds.
End of business.

(Translated from Hungarian by Anna Bentley)

 

Among Holy Images and Icons 

(Szentképek és ikonok közt)

To be a man among the images of saints
and icons in a sultry, stale hangover.
The handle is dirty, the bedding is crumpled,
crumpled is the carpet, on each square millimeter

unlovingness, failure, forgiveness and spasm

of apology. Although prior to the hangover

there was frenzy, ventilated worlds, inspired

spaces and the hustle and bustle of people.

What happened? Nothing. That almost nothing.

Those 21 grams.

(Translated from Hungarian by Márta Gyermán-Tóth) 

 

Not To Go Mad

(Hogy ne őrülj meg) 

In order not to go mad, you have to go
mad each day. Like the huge passenger

aircrafts before take-off, even on the runway
as they brake they move the crucial panels
up and down on the wings, test the displays,
you also have to learn to maintain your soul,
keep your sensitivity up to date, not to avoid
anything, let the vulgarity flow through you
as the red mud flows through peaceful villages.
While flowing, you can be cleansed.
Again and again. 

(Translated from Hungarian by Márta Gyermán-Tóth)

 Author’s Bionote: 

*Sándor Halmosi (1971) is a Hungarian poet, literary translator, editor and mathematician. Born in Szatmárnémeti (Satu Mare, Romania), he lived in Germany for 16 years before moving to Budapest in 2006. He is dedicated to promoting poetry and cultural dialogue as well as to fostering connections between literature and the fine arts. Halmosi has founded many literary and cultural associations and has organised workshops and literary salons in his home. He is a member of the Hungarian PEN Club (Budapest) and of the European Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters (EASAL, Paris). He is a founding member of the international poetry network, Poets of the Planet (POP), which was established in 2023. In February 2020, he published a literary manifesto with the title “Ora et labora: A Cry For Pure Literature”, in which he attempted to shine a light on the spiritual crisis the world is going through. He has published roughly 50 poetry collections in Hungarian (16) and other languages. He is an advocate of poetic correctness.