he named us The Jesters
had someone design the sweaters
a coat of arms
the unofficial leader
but more inclined to follow
told stories of his older brother
and cousins the Cicero boys
with sound effects
galloping horses
gunfire
the roar of the crowd
a witness to my first car accident
almost caused my second
when the ashes of his cigarette fell
between his legs
one of the three of us
who actually graduated high school
attended college for a semester
then married
got a job
had kids, I imagine, with Lorene
his sister Maryann
the darling of our crowd
a teller at a local bank
there are some who never get beyond
the working class we’re born in
that was Vic
too good natured to have ambition
still on the same block
making crowd noises
for his kids

Withered vines, old trees, crows at dusk;
A small bridge, flowing water, a few houses;
An ancient road, a lean horse in the west wind.
The evening sun sinking in the west–
A heartbroken traveler still at world’s end.

translated by Sherwin S.S. Fu

Awakening spring: how many leaves!
Rustling dawn: how many branches!
Does she know the pangs of love?
Never a time she wouldn’t dance.

Pussy willows aflutter–hide white butterfly,
Tendrils hanging limp–bare yellow oriole.
All conquering beauty, perfect through and through:
Who would enjoy just the brows of her eyes?

translated by Eugene Eoyang & Irving Y.Lo

The mists rise over
The still pools at Asuka.
Memory does not
Pass away so easily.

Asuka gawa
Kawa yodo sarazu
Tatsu kiri no
Omoi sugu beki
Koi ni aranaku ni

translated by Kenneth Rexroth

Hold yourself, don't show it brother,
I shall not see your tears mother,
Why are you lost in thought beautiful typewriter?
Leave me alone little vendor,
What could I even do for you
While my sorrows are too many to tell?

There is so much darkness around
Everyone's night is enough for themselves. 
-Translated by R.U.

Tut kendini, belli etme kardeşim, 
Görmeyeyim gözyaşını valide, 
Ne dalarsın öyle güzel daktilo, 
Beni rahat bırak küçük satıcı, 
Ne gelir ki elimden sizin için? 
Benim de dertlerim bitmez söylesem! 

O kadar çok ki etrafta karanlık. 
Herkesin gecesi kendine yeter.
-Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı...

I wish I were close
To you as the wet skirt of
A salt girl to her body.
I think of you always.

translated by Kenneth Rexroth

Look! I am but a road to you
The road you tread every morning
I am a tree to you, the acacia
In whose shadow you wait for a bus.

Tell me who you are
Let me write at the corners of streets
I’ve lost myself in your town
Your name is my street.

Tell me where your house is
Do you like afternoons or evenings?
Let me knock on your door
Unlock and show me the secret garden.

Give me the padlock of your eyes
Let me close us off from the world
Look, this is my key
Unlock yourself, there is love about to emerge
Please do not hide it.

translated by Ahu Dereli & Jean Carpenter Efe