Rudderless

Rudderless (Kormányeltörésben, 1971) is one of the truly great Hungarian poems written by my generation. Yet, it is hardly known by the wider public either in Hungary or internationally. István Domonkos already lived up North with his Swedish wife at the time of writing, making his living as a tennis coach. Ever since, he has exiled himself from the literary life, either of Serbia, Hungary, or Sweden. As Tibor Várady notes, an English translation of the complete poem of 400-odd lines only appeared in 2015 along with translations into nine other languages. We are proud to re-print Owen Good’s excellent version now in the Hungarian Review – perhaps the most powerful record of a linguistically homeless existence, whether as a member of an ethnic minority or as an immigrant.

Gy. K.

 

RUDDERLESS

 

István Domonkos

 

Dedicated to István Bosnyák

 

My desperate mind in wind doth waver,
Like an anchorless galley lost o’er sea;
Rudderless,
Without the faintest hope of love in sight.

Bálint Balassi

 

SWEATING SYSTEMS – in capitalist industry the various systems of intensifying labour.

(Handbook of Economics)

The development of society shows that private property is not an eternal category.

(Handbook of Economics)

PROLETARIAT – the class of wage-workers in capitalist society who are deprived of the ownership of means of production, and are therefore forced to sell their labour to the capitalists.

(Handbook of Economics)

 

POPULATION IMMIGRATION – the migration of certain countries’ citizens into another country for the purpose of permanent or temporary settlement.

(Handbook of Economics)

 

me being

me no speaking magyar

living abroad life

money language national flag

national anthem postage stamp

presidents great leaders

rummaging for appropriate one

wherever i arrive

we dying one and all

always on the wrong battlefield

our open skull the whisk’s

handle sticks out

proletarians

of the world

contretarians

of the world

this being poem

words’ great wall of china

climbed by death

writers publish life’s platitudes

bound in human skin:

generalissimos

of national literati

me no liking national

dishes’ pungent smell

making of abroad portable homeland

me going abroad

mit work permit

in suitcase pork fat

big loaf of bread me no seeing

new horizon

me going abroad

traipsing over crisp snow

life in minkcoat coming

slapping me in the face

 

me being

presidents great leaders

we dying one and all

always on the wrong battlefield

me being furry critter

abroad no string quartets

having me take pill

me swallowing

us ceasing to exist

me mixing cards

saying oink-oink

conjugal bed

eating russian-revolution-caviar

seeking a what

finding a rhyme

arhyme arhyme

findarhyme

being thirty years old

putting on show by day

groping in the evening

by night on snow-white sheet

life coming through pointed trees

slapping me in the face

 

me being

presidents great leaders

words’ great wall of china

climbed by death

me writing letter home

mama me being disease carrier

me infecting no speaking

touching

me surviving doctrines ideas regimes

state’s funeral me bearing cross

being revolution’s alchemist

plastic flower buttonhole

eight years of elementary school

finding gig abroad

magic bomb

curved-barrel rifle

shooting at dead king

no knickers on my soul

revolution clamour crowds

words beards blood

in tasteful packaging

to be freeze dried

no taking away samson’s strength

 

in the rainbow-coloured north

marx coming white gloves

slapping me in the face

 

me being

presidents great leaders

we dying one and all

always on the wrong battlefield

me getting letter

have to get egri out

uncle vili

gellért’s son fifi

the albanian leaving ma

pops fell off bicycle

ambulance taking him away

market every wednesday

priest coming collecting tax

washing shirt drawers

hoeing grave

no daring close eyes

hearing mouse rustle

 

me standing on marble pedestal

life standing on tiptoes

slapping me in the face

 

me being

presidents great leaders

me going abroad

mit work permit

in suitcase pork fat

big loaf of bread

me going shop on foot

in shop being dolores

she being spanish

she sitting at till

having big breasts

soft dough

on leg fine moustache

 

sweet smell red nails

me being brave enough

in front of me standing two greeks

they buying bread soap onion

in shorter man’s hair hanging straw

much pressure in my pants

pressure an illegal me being stiff

 

me standing in front of till blind

life coming incognito

slapping me in the face

 

me being

presidents great leaders

our open skull the whisk’s

handle sticks out

me walking street in crombie

ir flying

whatchamacallit-bird

pedigree dog sitting post

me smelling thingy-flowers’

ohne-smell

me thinking

me no going home

grabbing hoe

raising living standard

getting from spine

bent line

graph

me getting accustomed

capitalist working discipline

having two free days

nightmare of dismissal

sitting assembly line

it being my profit

me acquiring huge wealth

life at horse races with binocular strap

slapping me in the face

 

me being

presidents great leaders

life’s platitudes

bound in human skin

writers publish:

of national literati

generalissimos

me going library

playing chess

there sitting pavlik

him being czech

him castling long

after russian settlement

marcuse sartre godard

morris laing russell nietzsche

kepler galileo newton

einstein poincaré lukács

marshall mcluhan

pavlik running mouth

me getting checkmate

king plus two pawns

lenin being emigrant

marx being emigrant

joyce musil mann brecht

bartók picasso chagall

marx him will be grieved

wife being called jenny

rilke baudelaire rimbaud

all roaming

 

me living abroad on beans

life in front of chemist’s offhand

slapping me in the face

 

me being

presidents great leaders

me going abroad

mit work permit

in suitcase pork fat

big loaf of bread

me going dentist

him being herr schmidt

him showing photograph

black and white

 

defending bridge in helmet

hansi dying poor man

stomach no liking

nail lead nettle

earthworms

latrine-banana

herr schmidt loving italian pizza

in front of patient no being secret

going on holiday adriatic

loving skirt garlic

loving fat woman

loving behind loving in front

death coming from the east

 

me coward quaking a lot

in waiting room life with fly swatter

slapping me in the face

 

me being

presidents great leaders

words’ great wall of china

is climbed by death

me reversing on street

buying hotdog

price being pittance

in trousers knee

beating my staff walking dolores

on corner standing a magyar

all morning

him being fugitive king

when he’s sauced

him serving five years prison

looking in mirror

sun moon hanging tisza river bend

every morning guard saying

you be hanging soon

him hanging abroad

on foot on train

night time afraid

wood whispering in window

him cutting down tree

nature-lovers coming

writing article

article coming on last page

him no being any old chap

him coming psychiatrist

 

me hanging in eternity on wet string

life seeing stars

on my forever swollen purple soles

 

me being

living abroad life

money language national flag

national anthem postage stamp

presidents great leaders

rummaging out appropriate

wherever I arrive

psychiatrist saying

relaks relaks magyar

no thinking what will

no thinking what was

going alps going tyrol

going copacabana hawaii

going soirees balls

still living in new guinea cannibals

going brazil going sahara

moscow ankara

going on streets carrying sign

being exciting march

provoking passers-by police

waving red kerchief

being kommunista

promising much amusement

torture debate

being old-fashioned proletár

patch sewing maxi coat

eating meatless stew

in cinema in public space

groping in secret

warm silk

when nobody is looking

stuffing chocolate mouth

me walking with sign on back

life with rubber baton coming

slapping me in the face

 

me being

presidents great leaders

we dying one and all

always on the wrong battlefield

psychiatrist saying

sleep sleep

no being enemy

no being whispering

window tree

no being cell guard hanging

tisza river bend

no being magyar

buying dog

buying

going spanish mallorca

eating

watching bull

smelling mimosa

eating salty fish

newspaper no reading

supper supper

vesper vesper

sleepdust sleepdust

revolutionromp

amusementwar

corpseauction bonemonger

allocation confiscation

nationalisation bankruptcy

internal market(soul)

working off lockout

 

me getting away scot-free

life honorarially coming

slapping me in the face

 

me being

presidents great leaders

me no seeing nowhere limit

me seeing new horizon

me walking on street

seeing herr hallon

walking dog

on far side

him coming far off india

being drought

animal perishing

person lying dead

mama well jumping evening

papa going pilgrim

him going abroad

being doctor

being villa pool money

water milk oil honey

him mama well jumping evening

him mama eight children

all dying

burn ash ganges

him no india

him new name new passeport

him getting telegram

papa burn ash ganges

him wife buchenwald

him wife nerve liver heart lung

him wife deck-chair dressing gown

him wife kommunista doctor of physics

him wife him wife

 

me listening him preach

life slowly climbing up flagpole

flapping there a lot

 

me being

presidents great leaders

me going abroad

mit work permit

in suitcase pork fat

big loaf of bread

me being rudderless

this no being poem

me imitating poem

 

poem being puddle

sitting in it being sponge

ruining new clothes

in puddle finding

many fat maggots

for proletariátus

proletariátus casting hook into future

catching bathroom

poem being asking:

can tiny mouse carry

whole house on his back

when hiding away in hole?

me two children

me chainsaw

forest chopping tree

me mushroom

me bird

me many kinds wild game

many kinds object

name no knowing

afternoon dark tired

evening heavy piss-up

woman sheet bed clitoris

placing finger

no thinking kollektív

no thinking privát

 

DJUPHULT, 1971

 

Translated by Owen Good