okay I know
what he said
or didn’t say
what she did
or didn’t do
what goes on
behind that closed door
this is not exactly foreign territory
here
or there
that you are speaking of
and though I sympathize
it’s not something new
for you,
or me
for anyone
but go ahead anyway
tell me about it
then afterwards
I’ll tell you

we danced on tables
all night
during those wild crazy days
of summer
laid under a blanket
on the beach
whispering love poems
sat on the edge
of a volcano
eating barbecue
and counted stars
under a western sky
a lifetime ago
you were every woman
who ever accompanied me
in every story
on all the pages
of my life
for you are my last love
obliterating every other love
that ever was
with the passion
in my heart
for you
now if only
I could find you
the rest of the story
is already written

I hear the night
the cat’s trough hums
the candle hisses
someone walks across the floor upstairs
a baby cries
a dog barks
and from inside my chest
there is a crack
then silence fills the air

How can a deep love seem deep love,
How can it smile, at a farewell feast?
Even the candle, feeling our sadness,
Weeps, as we do, all night long.

translated by Witter Bynner & Kiang Kang-hu

This world drives you out of your mind,
This night, these stars, this fragrance,
This tree bursting with flowers from tip to toe.

translated by Talat S. Halman

I

I know living isn’t an easy thing to do
Or falling in love and singing of your girl
Taking a stroll under the stars at night
Warming up in the sunshine by day
Sneaking out for half a day to take it easy
On top of Istanbul’s loveliest hill
–Countless shades of blue flow in the Bosphorus–
And to forget all in the legions of blue.

II

I know living isn’t an easy thing to do
But look
The bed of a dead man is still warm,
A dead man’s wristwatch is ticking.
Brother, living is no easy affair,
But dying isn’t easy, either.

Leaving the world isn’t easy at all.

translated by Talat S. Halman

And in this frigid hour, when the earth
smells of human dust and is so sad,
I want to knock on every door
and beg forgiveness of I don’t know whom,
and bake bits of fresh bread for him,
here, in the oven of my heart. . .

translated by Rebecca Seiferle

Only an impotent official
is truly surprised when things become new
red clouds giving birth to the ocean dawn
plums and willows ferrying spring across the river
clear skies inciting yellow birds
sunshine turning duckweed green
suddenly hearing a familiar tune
I think of home and dry my eyes

translated by Red Pine

“Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day.”

he was a man of “some” contradictions but he got it right about the value of education

here or there
that is the question
whether it be smarter
in the long run
to pare down
or grab the whirlwind
with both hands
and ride, ride
the cat stares in my face
wondering once again
where his bowls
will be
and the past hovers
over my shoulder
specters whispering
in my ear
a month of decisions
that will determine
the course my life
will take
as I begin to break camp
saddle up
and gaze with eyes
that embrace
the faraway look
that claims me