The melody you whistle
Is sweet
Those nights you’re drunk.
But the same tune
At a train window
Isn’t sweet at all.
translated by George Messo
poetry
from Poems on asphalt : I by Orhan Veli Kanık
What a great thing:
To see an unknown horizon
When a roadside building
Is pulled down.
translated by George Messo
See what happens by Orhan Veli Kanık
See what happens when you don’t hear
The pistachio splitting apart on the branch,
Just see what happens to you.
See what happens, if you don’t hear this rain
Or the tolling bell or the man talking,
See what happens if you don’t smell the seaweed
Or the lobster, the shrimp,
Blowing in wind from the sea. . .
translated by George Messo
from Headache : II by Orhan Veli Kanık
Even if I go home now
I can leave again a little later,—
These clothes and shoes are mine
And the streets belong to no one.
translated by George Messo
Walking the streets by Orhan Veli Kanık
Walking the streets, when I catch
Myself smiling to myself
And think how crazy they’ll suppose I am
I smile even more.
translated by George Messo
untited poem by Orhan Veli Kanık
This world will drive you mad;
This night, these stars, this scent,
This tree in blossom from tip to root.
translated by George Messo
from Strolling Along the Riverbank, Looking for Flowers: Seven Quatrains: One Section by Tu Fu
Masses of flowers and plants envelop the riverbanks;
Walking there, unsteady in my steps, I’m really afraid of spring.
My verses and my wine I can still manage:
There’s no need yet to look after this white-haired one.
translated by Irving Y. Lo
from Farm Routine by Ch’u Kuang-hsi
My family greet me with mocking smiles;
But never would I have changed my mind.
translated by Joseph J. Lee
The Cowherd: A Song by Ch’u Kuang-hsi
It matters not if the pasture is far;
It matters not if the slope is steep.
Whether or not the cattle are tame or wild,
The cowherd’s mind is always calm.
A round bamboo hat over my head,
And a long palm-leaf coat to cover my body.
They’re good against summer showers
And good for days cloudy and cold.
The big cows are hidden behind the slopes;
The little ones dart in and out of nearby woods.
All things seem to please each other;
And they move me to sing and chant.
Joy is found in a moment;
Who would ask for a finer tune?
translated by Joseph J. Lee
from Poem Two of Meandering River, Two Poems by Tu Fu
I’d whisper to the wind and light: “Together let’s tarry;
We shall enjoy the moment, and never contrary be.”
translated by Irving Y. Lo
Leonard Durso 