Itt-Ott, 1986 (19. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1986 / 2. szám
Some were ... no matter. Where are the witty bouts of imbibing and laughter? Calls to the colors flew quickly, more fragments were written, creases spread 'round the lips and under the eyes of the sweetly smiling young women; the dainty, supple and lithe-footed maidens grew heavy, body and soul, in the taciturn years of warfare. Where is the night? That tavern? That table under the linden? And those who are still alive, where are they, those ground into battle? Deep in my heart I hear them, my hand has preserved their handshake, I quote from their works and as their torsos appear in the twilight, My eyes (a mute prisoner's) behold them on woe-filled Serbia's ranges. Where is the night? That night will never again be repeated, for that which is past is given another perspective by death. Others will come, they will sit at the table, hide in the smiles of the women, and drink from the glasses of those of us lying unburied, sleeping in lonely forests, on distant and foreign pastures. Miklós Radnóti — transl. by L. J. Éltető EPITAPH I merely lived here, a meek and humble soul, 'til finally they buried me below. I always knew that someday I would go: lo. Miklós Radnóti, 1938 — transl. by L. J. Éltető SUICIDES They're losers in the great battle of life. Admitting that their cause is lost at last, As Brutus did, weary and pale, they just Lean on their swords and lay themselves to rest. They're worthy of the tears we shed for them, We happy ones, who, having lost and failed A hundred times, yet still know how to live The while our shrouds are woven by the Fates. But don't bewail the ones who up and seek A freely chosen death with heads held high. The argonauts that boldly sail the void, Who, having seen the scramble here below, Decide to stand aside and, with a smile, Depart from here for fairer, brighter stars. Gyula Juhász, Szeged, 1906 —himself an argonaut— Transl. for Daphnie Couch, by L.J.É.
