Magyar News, 1997. szeptember-1998. augusztus (8. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1997-12-01 / 4. szám

open and close your eyes: tyranny stares at you; like a sickness

it stays with you like memory;

in the tram’s wheels you can hear it, “You’re a slave, you’re a slave” it repeats, on a mountain or beside a lake that is what you breathe;

lightning flashes: it is this that’s present in every startling noise and light, in the missing heartbeat;

in tranquility:

the boredom of shackles,

in pouring rain:

bars that reach up to the sky;

in falling snow:

white like the prison wall;

it looks at you

out of your dog’s eyes,

and because it’s there in every goal, it is part of your tomorrow, your thoughts, your every move;

like a river in its bed

you follow and you create it;

no use trying to flee:

it looks at you from the mirror,

it watches you, you would run in vain, you’re both the prisoner and the jailer; into the tang of your tobacco, into the fabric of your clothes

it seeps in, etches in like acid down to your marrow; you would like to think yet no idea only tyranny’s idea comes to your mind

you would like to look but you see only what tyranny creates like magic in front of you,

and already there is a circle of flames, a forest fire made of match sticks

because when you dropped one,

you didn’t crush it;

and thus it guards you now,

in the factory, in the field, in the houses

and you no longer feel what it is to live, what is meat and bread, what it is to love, to desire, to stretch out your arms;

thus the slave himself forges and bears his own shackles; you nourish tyranny when you eat, you beget your child for it;

where there’s tyranny eveiyone is a link in the chain; it stinks and pours out of you, you yourself are tyranny

making your child hardened and spiteful and your wife in your lap a slut;

like moles in the sunshine we walk in the dark, we are cramped in a chamber even when running the wide Sahara;

because where there’s tyranny all is in vain,

even this song, however faithful, whatever work you create;

for it stands

in advance at your grave, it tells you who you have beeneven your dust serves tyranny.

(1950-1971)

Gyula Illés (1902-1983)

As a poet, Illyés is perhaps the most important person in recent Hungarian literature. Three times he won the Kossuth Prize, also the International Grand Prize of Poetry and the Herder Prize.

The poem, One Sentence on Tyranny, was first published during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution on November 2, in the Irodalmi Ujsag (Literary Gazette) in Budapest. The English translation is by a prominent linguist, Professor Karoly Nagy, New York, in 1993.

A variation of this poem was also published in Stephen Sisa’s book The Spirit of Hungary. This 374 page bookin its third edition deals with the whole history of the Hungarian people. The first edition was published in Canada, the second and third in the Umted States of America.

PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES

PETER FRANCIS TUFO U.S. AMBASSADOR TO HUNGARY

Mr. Tufo, of New York, a lawyer and investment banker, has beenwith the law firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy in New York City, specializing in mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Tufo was also a Managing Director for Merrill Lynch Investment Banking until 1996, where he advised clients on international, corporate and infrastructure financing in developing nations. He has served in the U.S. Marine Corps, and intertwined his professional life with public service. Early in his career he led investigations into corruption in city government as chief counsel to the NYC Department of Investigation, and he served as Assistant to the Mayor of New York City. In 1975, he was appointed Chairman of the New York City Board of Corrections, where he had oversight responsibilities for major aspects of the criminal justice system for ten years. From 1989 to 1996, Mr. Tufo was Chairman and CEO of the New York State Thruway Authority, the largest toll road, bridge, and canal system in the United States.

Mr. Tufo is actively engaged in a variety of civic and charitable activities. He has been a director of public companies and has held numerous board positions with civic and education institutions. In addition, Mr. Tufo has received many awards and commendations including an Honorary Doctorate of Law degree from the Graduate School of the City University in New York in recognition of his public service. He received his B.A. from Beloit College in 1959 and his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1962.

We wish Ambassador Tufo success, we are impressed with his background and we hope that he will be able to put his knowledge and experience to benefit the Hungarian people.

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