Midnight bathing

a verse translation of “Éjféli fürdés” by János Pilinszky

artist: Sándor Rácmolnár (2009)

The lake this day is alert and
like a knife, gleaming, sharpened,
fluttering, exhaling mirror,
that my flailing arms shatter in
slow battle. Stirred up from the deep,
with restless and anxious teeth,
the elements claw back at me.
Defeated, I recline lazily
and perk my ears. Only
the stars flit, like lonely
fish locked in the sky’s pond…