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Hanyatlásvég

                 Fancsali pofával hanyatt dől.
                   A merev, hűvös tapintású,
                 örökké gyűrődő műanyagfólián.

Viaszbábú, nyolc hústűt szúrtak amorf, fóka-altestébe.

              Lappangó, gyilkos leheletű a közelítő éj.
        Menekül a kézzelfogható.
        Világunk örökké merülő búvárharang.
Nyálkás-taknyos illúziók a jelen idő csapkodó csápjai.

    (Esernyős duellum a köpködőn.
    Félkezű-féllábú zsaruk a segédek.)

Madame de Brinvilliers fehér, gőzölgő húsa halált hoz;
    nyelvünk rögtön felmaródik
a mérgező varangylé-pinanyáltól.

                 Jön a három király:
                 rozsdás biciklin, a munkába sietők
                 lován, Horea, Cloşca és Gheorghe Crişan.
    Mögöttük letolt gatyájú, vinnyogó törpék.
       Csörgőkígyók leszünk
        az állami intézményrendszer postaládájában.
S megvalósul amit vártunk: hatalmi jelkép
a járókeret és a mankó!

The End of Decay

              With crestfallen face he leans on his back
                          on the stiff, cold,
                       ever-crumpled plastic foil.

    Waxwork, eight meat needles stabbed into his amorphous, seal-like lower body.

                 The approaching night has a lurking, murderous breath.
        The tangible is fleeing.
        Our world is an ever-submerging diving bell.
Slimy-dark illusions are the flapping tentacles of the present.

    (Umbrella duellum on the spittoon.
    One-armed, one-legged cops are the helpers.)

The white, steaming flesh of Madame de Brinvilliers brings death;
    the poisonous toad-sap-pussy-drool
burns our tongues right away.

  On rusty bicycles, on horses of others rushing to work
                 the Three Kings are coming:
                     Horea, Cloşca and Gheorghe Crişan.
  Behind them, squeaking dwarfs with their pants down.
      We’ll be rattlesnakes
      in the mailbox of the state system of institutions.
And what we’ve been waiting for will come true:
a symbol of power
turns to walking sticks and crutches!

László Aranyi

Twitter: @azmon6

Translated from the Hungarian by Gabor Gyukics

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