yunus emre, fuzuli, baki
"know this well
i found the divine after i
knew me well
the fear to me ever nigh
did then quell
& now i fear
neither the sky nor to die"
translated and adapted from a poem by yunus emre
"the times have lent
no joy to anybody
everything we meant
apparently unseemly
and our every act
but energy misspent
so take the chance today
to cry in every breath
for as anybody would say
life is frail, and death
quickly has its own way
friend, listen to the advice
given by your humble poet
fuzuli may have his vice
but he's wise, you know it
& arguing comes at a price
for the fools who show it"
translated and adapted from a poem by fuzuli
"to renounce all worldly possession
to vanish into thin air in one motion
the bird of my soul lost in the ether
i got wanderlust, i can't stay either"
translated and adapted from a poem by baki
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lewd poem
iffet and her late husband
since they tied
the proverbial knot
every night
believe it or not
stretching out
on the feather bed
"whither the believer
& freedom preacher
whither joie de vivre
whither traveller
whither innkeeper"
iffet no older than twenty three
her husband Rıfat only thirty
sheltered from the drizzle out
in that bed with squeaky springs
the two going all the way out
be it summer, winter, or spring
eating chocolate and sweets
as though not in enough heat
& giggling
caressing
lovemaking
and reading
out to each other
for good measure
kitschy porn with great zing
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translated from the poem "müstehcen şiir" by turgut uyar
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a headstone inscription
suffered worse from nothing
in this world than his callus
didn't mind as much being
born ugly or his tiny phallus
he wouldn't utter god's name in prayer
but for cursing him for shoe bites
yet wouldn't qualify as a sinner either
so death was, and this is no slight,
an act of pity on süleyman all right
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translated from the poem "kitabe-i seng-i mezar" by orhan veli kanık
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to the water pundits
i pee with such glee
under the morning sun
behind me the wall of
a madrassa long gone
and facing the square
where business is run
the itch which abides
under the jurisdiction
of shared convictions
by which i don't abide
& dogged addictions
seems it hasn't died
i hurried & went to and fro
found nothing new though
under this sun of ours
and i'd grow sad and tired
for my quest proved futile
in the darkest of hours
oh boy, how i can think of
anything and everything
all that lies under the sun
it all comes to me at dawn
and at dusk, too, the sun
ascending & descending
you, all my woes, begone
the world we coexist in
assumed to be spoiled
really remains pristine
the wicked plans foiled
so here i am telling you
& everyone hears it too
might be time we turned this off
we are always on and never off
under the abhorrent clutches of
vile curses like tuberculosis
and uranium and impasses
which we just cannot shake off
and we stopped and fed
the flames the birds led
behind us the wall of
a madrassa long gone
and facing the square
where business is run
under the sun, the sun
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translated from the poem "su yorumcuları'na" by turgut uyar
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along rivers i have seen women
women through whom
river porsuk runs
i have seen each
at least a hundred times
it is their lot
to hold onto hopeless love
& it is their lot
to live growing sparser
against the steppe
each gives a man everything
that she's got
i have seen all that i've seen
in women through whom
river porsuk runs
river kızılırmak be damned
and fall, fall to pieces
a piece of black bread
a dime for henna, red
along dirt and gravel
their folk songs travel
in the dark they remain
partly covered
& partly nude
& their large eyes, oh mother
so frail, mournful and tender
who could've frightened
this many women
one could only wonder
once the train arrives at
the banks of river dicle
a vast stretch of sky that
one just keeps going at
when generally at first
their eyebrows appear
then their eyes that blink
sleepless not even a wink
and their cheeks bearing
abscesses like dried roses
you too might at some point
find yourselves in the country
and see for yourselves
the women dutifully fated
to be defeated
it lies between the bone and the blade
between the quiet and the tears shed
the defeated
women
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translated from the poem "nehirler boyunca kadınlar gördüm" by cemal süreya
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the upbeat song
the celebration's done
& a bitter breeze
through the trees
is all that's left in the yard
the upbeat song plays
and my Celia quiver
as i shed a tear
friends are gone
the fest is over
nothing left from
pace or fervor
that once were
& the only thing
that is left in our
sorrowful solitude
at a random hour
the upbeat song plays
and my Celia quiver
as i shed a tear
erupted from the most fiery forest
saplings the three were, youngest
they would chisel from the sun
its light
the three as tough as anyone
their insolent laugh would shake
the light
it turned dark soon as they left
before the sun would even set
what came next the longing
of fiddles without an ending
what comes next being a mystery
opens a unique chapter in history
a blackest consolation perhaps
for those that still remain
a dreary, lifeless night expands
a prelude to autumn rain
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translated from the poem "mahur beste" by attila ilhan
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reap what you sow
an iota of flickering life, scant
possesses the diminutive ant
while the enormous elephant
just bursts with life abundant
yet both get equally frantic
struck with deranged panic
when death knocks on the door
let them know they are done for
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translated from the poem "men dakka dukka" by bedri rahmi eyüboğlu
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as the sun sets
a great many things
to choose among
the new day will bring
while still young
you can help out a bro
or perhaps fight a foe
then again at sunset
heralded by its red
a guy has no time left
to search right and left
for a rhyme to find
or to lose his mind
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translated from the poem "gün batarken" by melih cevdet anday
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the door
it must have been
a mishap or
a mistake
that i was placed
on this earth
oh i abhor
oh i ache
i feel misplaced
i am so distant
from the
rest of
the human race
my eyes on the
lookout for
a thing
to bless & grace
yet deep down
inside me
i long for
a different space
as if awakening
from nasty
visions
a voice calls out
from the world
of dreams
of love
says come out
and that sound
to my ears
music
so i hear out
a door opens
all i need
now is
to step out
nobody notices
as i depart
adieu
& peace out
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translated from the poem "bir kapı açıp gitsem" by cahit sıtkı tarancı
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the tree
cast a stone
at a tree
the stone
i've thrown
at the tree
now stolen
as the tree
made it
its own
on the count of three
you covetous tree
set my stone free
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translated from the poem "ağaç" by orhan veli kanık & oktay rifat
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the accident
whose gaze are you
just a moment ago
whose hands legs
severed torn off
in just a moment
all of a sudden
all
in a horrific hurry
what time'll bury
as has happened
coming your way from
the firmament
while what'll
happen has
dawned anew
as darkness
that was
born grew
& permeated
the moments
now vacated
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translated from the poem "görünmez kaza" by fazıl hüsnü dağlarca
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west
the trees as if
sleepwalking
have forgotten
all life
and the birds
sweettalking
to send away
the day
don't care to
betray
where it is
they
are hiding
away
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translated from the poem "batı" by fazıl hüsnü dağlarca
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lost
when we need it
we look for it
but it
's nowhere to be found
where is it?
or whither is it bound?
the response
where is what?
it was right here
right in front of me
come on dear
you remember
around here
somewhere
i swear
they do know
though
they just don't say
no need anyway
it shows
in the implied cognizance
of their feigned ignorance
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translated from the poem "yitik" by behçet necatigil
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death itself shivers
seized him in a wood
tied him up against
a tree
he closed
gently
like a sleeper would
his eyes against
the peril
posed
a cold wind blows
death itself shivers
and tells of
the blood that flows
with its white voice
they knelt
and shot
& he felt
the hot
gush of blood
that did flood
his chest
where bullets
now rest
a cold wind blows
death itself shivers
and tells of
the blood that flows
with its white voice
later that night
a dove perched on
and kissed
his hand
quite the sight
and the cuffs on
his wrists
turned then
into a red wreath
and thereupon
ended his plight
a cold wind blows
death itself shivers
and tells of
the blood that flows
with its white voice
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translated from the poem "üşür ölüm bile" by ülkü tamer
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