Kinga Fabó: Three Poems

The Transfiguration of the Word

Open, the sea appeared asleep.
Carrying its waves.
A pulse under the muted winter scene.
Throwing a smile on the beach.

A nun-spot on the hot little body.
A color on the broken glass.
A gesture that was once closed.
Lovely as the sea stood up.
Throwing a smile on the beach.

I wanted to remain an object.
But, no, immortality is not mine.
I am too strong to defend myself.
Waiting for punishment.

This and the same happened together.
Silently, I sat in the glass.
Only the spot wandered on the naked scene.
Sounds did not continue.

Only an omitted gesture.
Happiness like an unmoving dancer.
Beatings on naked, bony back.

And the sea will no longer be immortal.

(Translated by Zsuzsanna Ozsváth and Martha Satz)

The Suskind Perfume

Now the maestro is rather uninspired

Baptiste procure one like in the olden times

follow her scent   the woman

turns her head   it’s foggy   steal her

smear and wrap her in a sack

let her soak in grease for a time

to preserve her volatility

with her every drop

the grease sucks her in

she cajoles you to follow

the scent on the bodies

of every other women

do you recoil – on all?!

What happens if your yearning

drives you mad

follow her scent

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

(and you, fair scent will evaporate)

(Translated by Gabor G. Gyukics)

Androgen

The bees are tough, hard to break virgins.

Virgins, but different from us humans.

They have no ego. Hermaphrodites. Like the moon.

Butterflies. Phallic souls.

Soul phalluses in female bodies.

The daughter, daughters of the moon

allured me but only until

I figured them out.

As lovers.

I got tired of my ego.

And theirs too.

I’m bored of their services.

It wedges an obstacle between us. Neither

in nor out. In vain

I keep trying. I can break through

mine somehow.

But his? How?

Selfish, inspiring; but for what?

Is he like this by nature,

subservient, dependent?

On me? That’s dispiriting.

He doesn’t even suspect, that I depend on him.

I am the stronger, the unprotected.

Tough as a woman, austere.

Delicate as a man, fragile, gentle.

What would I like? I want him to

wrestle me gently to the floor,

penetrate me violently, savagely.

So I can become empty and neutral.

Impersonal, primarily a woman.

(Translated by Gabor G. Gyukics)

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Kinga Fabó is a Hungarian poet. Her latest book, a bilingual Indonesian-English poetry collectionRacun/Poison was published in 2015 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Fabó’s poetry has been published in various international literary journals including Osiris, Ink Sweat & Tears, The Screech Owl, The Original Van Gogh’s Ear, Numéro Cinq, Deep Water Literary Journal, Fixpoetry, lyrikline.org and elsewhere as well as in anthologies.

Two of her poems have been translated into English by George Szirtes and are forthcoming in Modern Poetry in Translation Spring Issue introduced by Szirtes.

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