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Rónay György: The old poet (Az öreg költő in English)

Portre of Rónay György
Portre of Kery, Leslie A.

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Az öreg költő (Hungarian)

Minden reggel
tedd magad elé a papírt.
Milyen fehér.
Milyen határtalan.
Hogy tudtál vándorolni rajta,
aggálytalanul, vakmerően,
hajós a tengeren,
fölfedező a sivatagban,
elképzelt partok, ismeretlen
oázisok felé!
Most meg csak ülsz,
tenger partján rokkant hajós,
sivatag szélén leprás beduin,
kalapod melletted a földön,
koldulni tárt tányér,
napestig üresen.
Milyen fehér.
Milyen aprócska börtönablak.
Tedd vissza a fiókba.
Ma sem jutott eszedbe semmi.



Uploaded byP. T.
Source of the quotationSzép versek 1976, Magvető Kiadó

The old poet (English)

Put a piece of paper
in front of you each morning.
How white it is.
How infinite.
How you once could wander about on it,
without a care, recklessly,
sailor on the seas,
explorer in the desert,
towards imagined shores
towards unknown oases!
And now you just sit,
disabled sailor by the seashore,
leprous Bedouin at the desert's edge,
your hat, beside you on the ground
as plate for handouts,
is day-long empty.
How white it is.
It’s like a small prison window.
Put it back in the drawer.
Nothing came to mind again today.



Uploaded byP. T.
Source of the quotationL. A. K.

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