Florencia Horváth (b. 2002, Celldömölk) is a poet and author based in Budapest. She studies Literary works and Cinema at ELTE and is energetic as a poet, critic, and author. Along with her composition, she leads creative creating workshops for youngsters. A recipient of the Móricz Scholarship in 2021, her works have appeared in countless literary journals. Her debut poetry collection, Hiátus , was released in spring 2025
No One Actually
The waves yearn for the coast, I can not fit them all,
my mouth is loaded with water, but equally as I spew it out,
it fills up once again. How could I speak of the offensive,
how could I create of the inexpressible, often there’s no ground listed below,
often there’s no skies over, what am I performing in this nation
at the world’s side, which does not even have a sea, I lug the water,
I wring out every decline from myself. What originates from my body
is the poem, every little thing I try to utter marks my limits,
yet maybe there is nobody, nobody actually at the bottom, I simply
visualize my mommy being there as well, every little thing just might be
right there around me, all I can not see.
The waves wish for the shore, would flee my body,
I would certainly flee as well from this swamp that is just growing around me
with every drop, every mouthful of water splashed, every faucet
I open, every love and each time I wash my hands. For long I thought that it was me, now I understand, the water is the most awful,
the water is the best. But exactly how can the river get to the tidewater
just how could the lake smooth its own surface area, if there is no tranquility within me, if I can not see the land.
***
Valójában senki
Partra vágynak a hullámok, nem férnek el bennem,
korty vizet tartok a számban, hiába köpöm ki, azonnal újabb
adaggal telik meg. Hogyan mondhatnám el az elmesélhetetlent,
hogyan írhatnám le a leírhatatlant, néha nincs alattam layer,
néha nincsen fölöttem ég, mégis mit keresek ebben a világvégi
országban, aminek még tenger se jutott, a vizet én hordom,
magamból szenvedem ki minden cseppjét. Ami testemből jön,
az a vers, minden, amit kimondani próbálok, azok a határaim,
pedig lehet, hogy valójában senki, senki nincs az alján, csak
én képzelem oda anyámat is, lehet, hogy minden ott van
körülöttem, amit nem látok.
Partra vágynak a hullámok, menekülnének belőlem,
menekülnék én is a lápból, ami egyre csak gyűlik körülöttem
minden könnycseppel, minden elfolyatott korttyal, minden megnyitott csappal, minden szerelemmel és minden kézmosással. Sokáig hittem, én magam, ma már tudom, a víz a legrosszabb,
a víz a legjobb. De mégis hogyan érhetne torkolatot a folyó,
hogyan simíthatná ki felszínét a tó, ha nincsen bennem béke,
ha nem látom a szárazföldet.
***
The poem was readied to music by Gergő Karádi (see the enbedded video clip), who produced a refrain making use of the following lines:
occasionally there’s no ground below,
occasionally there’s no skies above
every little thing just may be
right there around me,
all I can’t see