THE WELL
THE WELL
THE WELL
THE WELL


Károly Lencsés

“The Well” (A kút) translated from Hungarian by Ágnes Megyeri // HEADER PHOTO: らせん © Fuji TV, 1999
poetry, aug 24, anniversary issue











Lost in sightless
imagination he spat at the world
hissing failed translations
from the pinpoint of his rotten tooth stubs
Since he read
the book he lost his speech
and went blind

The last he saw
and it burned into his retina was
the dead body of a shrivelled-up lizard
he did not know why the picture stood still
inside that the lizard was not even a lizard
but only a cheap imitation
shown off to the world

“No, I do not miss that”
He hissed, sticking out
his always dry, blistered tongue
Since he found his way here and became mesmerized
by this desert, where there was nothing
but this dried up well
against which he leaned his back

He did not eat, nor did he drink
cloudy shades of weeks wizened him
“Crawl inside!
Crawl into the well into its cool depth
there your questions will be answered”
And his bony hand was scraping the pitted, cracked ground
that closed around him













AUTHOR BIO
AUTHOR BIO
AUTHOR BIO
AUTHOR BIO


Károly Lencsés is a Hungarian poet and visual artist, born in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary, in 1976. He has been writing from a very early age; his first attempts were in primary school, his passion for writing has not faded since. He has numerous publications in most Hungarian literary magazines. He has had two books of poems published, and his poems are included in many anthologies. Recently, he has been granted the Andras Dugonics literary prize, an award granted by the public.


AUTHOR BIO
AUTHOR BIO
AUTHOR BIO
AUTHOR BIO


Ágnes Megyeri, the translator of Karoly Lencses’ poems, was born in Szekesfehervar, Hungary, in 1975. Her passion for the English language started in her early teens. She spent several years living in England and has been teaching the language for over 30 years now. She has an interest in writing prose and had some publications in Hungarian literary magazines, which created the opportunity to use her language skills when translating Hungarian poems and short stories to English.



“The Well” (A kút) translated from Hungarian by Ágnes Megyeri // HEADER PHOTO: らせん © Fuji TV, 1999
poetry, aug 24, anniversary issue





Lost in sightless
imagination he spat at the world
hissing failed translations
from the pinpoint of his rotten tooth stubs
Since he read
the book he lost his speech
and went blind

The last he saw
and it burned into his retina was
the dead body of a shrivelled-up lizard
he did not know why the picture stood still
inside that the lizard was not even a lizard
but only a cheap imitation
shown off to the world

“No, I do not miss that”
He hissed, sticking out
his always dry, blistered tongue
Since he found his way here and became mesmerized
by this desert, where there was nothing
but this dried up well
against which he leaned his back

He did not eat, nor did he drink
cloudy shades of weeks wizened him
“Crawl inside!
Crawl into the well into its cool depth
there your questions will be answered”
And his bony hand was scraping the pitted, cracked ground
that closed around him




AUTHOR BIO
AUTHOR BIO
AUTHOR BIO
AUTHOR BIO

Károly Lencsés is a Hungarian poet and visual artist, born in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary, in 1976. He has been writing from a very early age; his first attempts were in primary school, his passion for writing has not faded since. He has numerous publications in most Hungarian literary magazines. He has had two books of poems published, and his poems are included in many anthologies. Recently, he has been granted the Andras Dugonics literary prize, an award granted by the public.



AUTHOR BIO
AUTHOR BIO
AUTHOR BIO
AUTHOR BIO


Ágnes Megyeri, the translator of Karoly Lencses’ poems, was born in Szekesfehervar, Hungary, in 1975. Her passion for the English language started in her early teens. She spent several years living in England and has been teaching the language for over 30 years now. She has an interest in writing prose and had some publications in Hungarian literary magazines, which created the opportunity to use her language skills when translating Hungarian poems and short stories to English.
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