A poem by János Lackfi in the time of quarantine, translated by Anna Bentley.The Least
by János Lackfi
I was feeling lonely,
and you called me for a video chat.
My food ran out;
you brought me some and left it by my door.
While a pandemic was on
I was ’vulnerable’
and you didn’t visit.
I was furious,
but to no avail; you were doing it for me.
My income dried up,
and you made an instant cash transfer.
I had no work,
and you gave me online jobs.
I had no medicines,
and you filled my prescriptions.
I was out of sorts
and you sang out on your balconies
with varying degrees of musicality
but with an endearing enthusiasm.
I wasn’t my usual self
and you sent me memes.
I became withdrawn
and you got me to read.
My ideas had dried up,
but seeing your nostalgic posts
I took the old albums down off the shelf,
put up a few photos,
then just took my memory on a trip
down the lane and out of the town.
A howling silence grew inside me,
but you recommended some music,
and I basked, then, in the most wonderful
concerts.
I couldn’t go out,
but you dug out your old holiday snaps,
and I went travelling in my head.
Whatever you’ve done for the least of my brothers,
you have done the same for me.
Translated by Anna Bentley
KICSINYEK
Magányos voltam,
és videóchaten hívtatok.
Elfogyott az ennivalóm,
hoztatok, és letettétek az ajtóm elé.
Járvány idején
veszélyeztetett voltam,
és nem látogattatok meg,
én meg dühös voltam,
hiába, hogy miattam teszitek.
Forrásaim kiapadtak,
és azonnali utalással pénzt küldtetek.
Nem volt munkám,
és távmunkát adtatok.
Nem volt gyógyszerem,
és kiváltottátok.
Nem volt jókedvem,
és az erkélyre kiállva énekeltetek,
váltakozó hamissággal,
de aranyos kedéllyel.
Nem voltam humoromnál,
és mémeket küldtetek.
Magamba zuhantam,
és kedvet csináltatok az olvasáshoz.
Elszáradtam,
és a múltbanéző posztjaitok nyomán
levettem a polcról a régi albumokat,
befotóztam párat,
aztán csak túráztattam,
túráztattam az emlékezetemet.
Süvítő csend lett bennem,
de zenéket javasoltatok,
én meg fürdöttem a jobbnál jobb
koncertekben.
Nem tudtam kimozdulni,
de feldobáltátok régi utazós képeiteket,
s én fejben utaztam.
Amit eggyel is tettetek e kicsinyek közül,
énvelem tettétek.
János Lackfi (Budapest, 1971) is a Hungarian poet, writer, and translator. He has several poetry collections; his latest is Élő hal which includes selected poetry, 2004-2010. Lackfi is well-known for his storybooks and poems for children, too, and his recent 'travel book' Milyenek a magyarok?, a humorous, illustrated description of the Hungarian people.
Anna Bentley has been translating Hungarian literature since 2015. She graduated from the Balassi Institute, Budapest’s Literary Translation Programme in 2018. Her translation of Ervin Lázár’s well-loved children’s book Arnica, the Duck Princess was published by Pushkin Children’s Press in 2019. Bentley translated Anna Menyhért's Women’s Literary Tradition and Twentieth-Century Hungarian Writers (Brill, 2020).
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