Ceremonial Robes by Bejan Matur
29th June
‘Ceremonial Robes’ by Kurdish-Turkish poet Bejan Matur, from her PTC chapbook ‘If This is a Lament’, translated by Jen Hadfield and Canan Marasligil.
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Introduction
The Poetry Translation Centre gives the best contemporary poems from Africa, Asia and Latin America a new life in the English language, working with diaspora communities for whom poetry is of great importance.
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Featured Poem
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Ceremonial robes
In the cold dead heart of the land
I saw their eyes. Everyone
was there, with their own stance and voice.
We know each other best…Tören giysileri
Çürümüş donuk kalbinde bu toprakların
Gözleri gördüm.
Herkes sesiyle vardı
Ve duruşuyla gövdesinin.
Bir insanı en iyi sevişirken tanırız.
Kalbimizi birlikte çürütürken.
Ağırlaşan gövdemiz
Gece uyandırır.
Mezar gibidir avlulu evler.
Çocukluk bir uykudur.…
Ceremonial robes
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Translated by
Bridge translation by