Tea with Germans in 1931 - George Gömöri

— Today I was Thomas Mann's guest.
We had tea together. He has not changed at all,
he is still amiable, healthy, and not so rigid
as my fellow-writers, Móricz and Babits.
We drank tea with the family. His son,
Klaus — he observes laughing —
only comes home  to ask for money. My German
was praised by them, though you know
how late in life I started to learn the language.
From here I went to England and from there back to Doorn,
where I paid a visit to Wilhelm, the old Kaiser.
Here, too, I was welcome, well, and offered a cup of tea.
When the Emperor asked me what I did,
I quietly replied: "I am a poet".
This made him turn to his aide-de-camp:
"Do you hear? A poet!" and he laughed heartily.
I suppose it was the first time he'd ever seen
a live poet; but true, it was the first time I had seen
a Kaiser, exiled, without his iron hat.

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George Gömöri (20th century) Hungary
Translated by Mari Gömöri and George Gömöri