I’m waiting.
Come when the weather is such
That there can be no turning back.
translated by Talat Sait Halman
Turkish poet
The Guest by Orhan Veli Kanik
I was bored yesterday towards the evening.
Two packages of cigarettes didn’t do me a thing;
Tried to write, no good either;
For the first time in years I played the violin,
Walked around,
Kibitzed watching people play backgammon,
Sang songs off key,
Caught flies–a boxful.
Finally, damn it,
I came here to see you.
Robinson Crusoe by Cahit Sitki Taranci
Robinson, my clever Robinson
you don’t know how I envy you.
If you could only show me your island,
there I would find peace of mind.
I’ll be the ship, you be the captain.
We can unfurl the sail one morning.
The sea becomes our shadow in the sun.
The journey. And suddenly we’re at our island.
I wish you could be my interpreter,
introduce me to the fish,
to wild birds and flowers,
say to them about me: “He’s one of us.”
I know how to climb trees.
I can tell a fruit that’s ripe.
I can also manage breaking stones,
making fires, cooking food.
Robinson, understanding Robinson,
if your island hasn’t sunk yet
take me there
before the seaways close.
Roads Too Early by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar
Roads disappeared early
I lost my hope of disappearing
Something else covered your foot steps
Beyond the silence colored moon
Far away from everything, and stars
You became the denier of all gardens
Built your house where my freezing winds
Can’t find a branch to break
Empty Streets by Ozdemir Ince
I look at you
and my teeth are set on edge as if I’ve eaten green plums
dawn’s peacock spreads open its tail.
I look at you
and our glances meet like two brooks,
the voice lilies of the street blossom.
untitled poem by Cahit Kulebi
Rosy lips
your white hands
hold my hands, babe,
hold them a while.
In the village where I was born
no birch trees;
I pine for cool water, babe,
caress me a while.
In the village where I was born
no wheat stems,
toss your hair around, babe,
toss it around.
Where I was born
bandits prowl at night;
I hate loneliness, babe,
talk to me a while.
the village where I was born
only northern wind;
my lips are cracked, babe,
kiss them a while.
In the village where I was born
only sour faces;
I am shy and sad, babe,
make me laugh a while.
Your face like Anatolia is beautiful;
my village is beautiful too;
now you tell me about your village, babe,
tell me for a while.
Makes Me Dizzy by Orhan Veli Kanik
Getting a letter makes me dizzy;
Drinking raki makes me dizzy;
Going on a trip makes me dizzy;
What’s the meaning of all this, I don’t know;
Someone singing “My Kazim”
In Uskudar
Makes me dizzy.
translated by Murat Nemet-Nejat
The Bee by Cemal Sureya
You are watching a bee whizzing by in the room
The way
You ate your milk pudding
Three days ago.
Only after mere three days of my cajoling,
Coaxing, feeding, lying
You reached this serenity:
Thin, naked
Your pale, still unripe breasts showing,
Leaning against the board,
Nibbling a mackintosh apple. . .
translated by Murat Nemet-Nejat
untitled poem by Nazim Hikmet
Snow closed the road
you weren’t there
kneeling and facing you
I gazed at your face
with my eyes closed.
Ships won’t sail, planes won’t fly
you weren’t there
across from you I was leaning on the wall
I spoke and spoke and spoke
without opening my mouth.
You weren’t there
I touched you with my hands
my hands were on your face.
translated by Talat S. Halman
Waiting Beside A Friend’s Coffin by Ahmet Erhan (1958-2013)
Waiting beside a friend’s coffin
I was afraid of catching your eyes,
Of seeing the painful trembling of your lips
Which I have kissed in some room only yesterday.
I felt guilty, waiting erect
Beside the deceased
One by one my friends are dead and gone
Leaving behind them an age of grief.
Yesterday I gave you a rose, you were happy
Now I put a rose on this coffin
Side by side, strange and absurd
They flapped their wings and flew away.
Waiting beside a friend’s coffin
You and I sat through the whole night
Recalling what our generation lived through
One by one, a child plucked
all the roses in us.
Leonard Durso 