3 Poems
Father Tongue
I only know a little Hungarian –
csak egy kicsit tudok magyarul –
despite the weekend lessons and the pen pals.
My father understands but cannot write or speak.
Csak egy kicsit tudok magyarul –
his parents argued in the language
my father understands but cannot write or speak.
He told me Isten vary a meg meant ‘God strike you down’.
His parents argued in the language.
Isten vary a meg means ‘God bless you’, Google tells me.
He told me Isten vary a meg meant ‘God strike you down’.
On Duolingo, I remain at level two.
Isten vary a meg means ‘God bless you’, Google tells me.
Despite the weekend lessons and the pen pals
on Duolingo, I remain at level two.
I only know a little Hungarian –
The Proposal Shop
—after Matthea Harvey
The Proposal Shop was between a children’s soft play and a boarded-up library. Closing Down Sale, a limp banner read. The Build-me-Bears all looked the same, cuddly as a stranger’s gran. I chose a wizard’s costume: the staff was missing but the cloak was pretty. Highly flammable, warned the label. My partner recorded his voice – I heard every word. The sound chip was inserted. In the self-service food corner, we bought king prawns and cava. There was a strong smell of sadness with an undernote of hope. A man sold plastic roses to no one. I held my overstuffed wizard bear close to my chest. “Press the button,” my partner said. “Marry me,” said the bear’s tummy. The ring box was empty. A Paris street in moonlight was projected on the wall. Canned laughter rose through the floor, quickly replaced by applause. A security guard held out a card reader. “I chose the gold service,” said my partner. My heart was full as a blister. His card was declined, so I paid. The photo booth was out of order but a cleaner took a picture. Congratulations! texted his mother.
INT. Cinema
As the screen neons into life,
as conversations become whispers,
she passes the popcorn to no-one.
The trailer begins
and the teenage children
she brought with her
are starring in a movie
she has never heard of,
produced in a place
she has never visited.