it happens
when least expected
doing laundry
brewing tea
ironing shirts
stirring spaghetti
in the morning
late at night
in the afternoon
these tears
they fall
they fall
as I sit stand lay
helpless
to stop them
helpless
as they fall
these tears
mourning
oh Türkiye: February 21, 2023
just when I thought
all my tears were shed
again the earth shook
unleashing the water
from my eyes
the volumes in my heart: for Jimmy
there are some mornings
the call to prayer
resonates
after a long illness
or a hardship endured
but at no times
more than these
with the passing
of a beloved friend
for words fail
to express
what the Ezan
does for me now
it speaks the volumes
in my heart
Weeping for Ying Yao by Wang Wei
We send you home to a grave on Stone Tower Mountain;
through the green green of pine and cypress, mourners’ carriages return.
Among white clouds we’ve laid your bones–it is ended forever;
only the mindless waters remain, flowing down to the world of men.
translated by Burton Watson
there are dates: for my mother
there are dates
one remembers
etched in one’s consciousness
numbers in stone
and this date
in January
I will never forget
Mercy Hospital
the doctors the nurses
you shivering
a door closing
and crying in Dr. Tassey’s arms
the calls to my sister Theresa
my brother Johnny
and George in my doorway
at two in the morning
our tears our tears
and you gone
leaving this emptiness
in my heart
tears fall
tears fall
an ocean
an ocean
of tears
fall
Oh Gaziantep, Oh Turkey
once
I ate pistachios
in Gaziantep
city of heroes
had baklava
and favored coffee
in pewter cups
ate kıyma kebab
in an Ottoman style restaurant
wandered through Zincirli Bazaar
and Bakırcılar çarşısi
fingering the copperware
beheld the mosaics
in the museum
wandered the ramparts
of Gaziantep Castle
where local warriors
fought the French
in 1920
for Turkish independence
was treated with warmth
and kindness
by the people
on its ancient streets
those streets now
soaked in blood
Oh Gaziantep
Oh Turkey
heavy with tears
the song
floating up
from Iftar
sadder this night
heavy with tears
tears in my eyes: for Istanbul
I sit here
in New York
5000 miles away
with tears
in my eyes
mourning
the lives lost
where my heart
lies
Parting from My Yin Daughter by Wang An-shih
I’ve only lived thirty years and already I feel old
wherever I look I’m beset by sorrow
I’ve come in this little boat to say goodbye tonight
here where the shores of life and death divide us
translated by Red Pine
note: written to his daughter who was buried on a small hill beyond a moat just before he had to leave the district for his next government posting
Leonard Durso 