György Petri

I AM STUCK, LORD, ON YOUR HOOK



I am stuck, Lord, on your hook.
I've been wriggling there, curled up,
for the past twenty-six years
alluringly, and yet
the line has never gone taut.
It's now clear
there are no fish in your river.
Lord, if you still have hopes,
choose some other worm. Being
among the elect
has been beautiful. All the same,
what I'd just like to do, right now,
is dry off and loll about in the sun.

In Eternal Monday, Bloodaxe Books
Translated by Clive Wilmer & George Gömöri