Poetry: “Toy Train,” by Ilona Hegedûs

There is still a way for art to reach the masses.

All it takes is a group of youngsters,

talent and paint.

A grown man in a black suit,

sitting on top of a blue toy train.

The image will be painted over the next day,

of course,

but it will not be forgotten.

Yes, you are allowed to laugh at the king.

Or the PM.

I’m glad I have seen that one.

Ilona Hegedûs is a Hungarian poet, writer, and book reviewer. She graduated from Eötvös Lóránd University (ELTE) in Budapest with a degree in English, where she was also educated as a literary translator. Her first poems were published in 2004. Since then, she has had poems published in the US, UK, France, Greece, and Hungary. At first, she was interested mainly in speculative poetry as an author, then she gradually turned towards the topics of everyday life. She also likes to write pieces for themed anthologies. Examples include poems about wolves, the night sky, the history of mankind, empathy in art and even a poem about coffee. She also completed a master's program in European Studies. She is an avid reader of news from the CEE region and beyond.