Hungary, (1902-1983)
A WINTER MEMORY
- We ate you up, little pig.
- The luckless farmer stabbed you
- in the throat while you squealed with joy
- as you heard his footsteps.
- You danced behind the boards,
- yet the people cornered you;
- they dragged you by the ears
- no matter how much you implored them.
- Mother held your feet,
- she, who nursed you like her own son,
- who fed you weeds and corn
- and scratched your back.
- I heard your screams
- from under the warm quilts
- and wept and plugged up my ears.
- Embraced my older brother.
- I imagined all the horrors
- when it’s our turn!
- But later I attended cheerfully
- the singeing of your skin,
- watched the up-shooting flames
- and pulled your nails over my fingernails.
- I chewed on your roasted, tiny tail
- under the smoke-laden, ash-filled sky.
About the Poet:
Gyula Illyes, Hungary, (1902-1983), poet, novelist, playwright, and dissident. He was a leading literary figure in Hungary during the 20th century and is considered one of the most eminent poets of contemporary Hungary. Besides poems, he wrote plays, essays, a sociological study on village life, a biography of the famous 19th century poet and revolutionary Sandor Petofi.
For many years He was the editor of Nyugat, the most prestigious literary magazine before World War II. Illyes was one of the so-called népi (“from the people”) writers, named so because they aimed to show – propelled by strong sociological interest and left-wing convictions – the disadvantageous conditions of their native land. He continued to express political, social and moral issues all through his life, but the main themes of his poetry remain love, life and death. His work has been translated into twelve languages. [DES-07/22]