Yüz Havlusu Face Cloth

Yüz Havlusu

Çarmiha gerildigi yasta ?sa'nin
avuçlarimdan tutan
iki çocukla çiviliyim yasama
ask bardagini çalkaladigim su olmak
kirilacak esya tasiyan
bir kamyon gibi gidiyor Agrima
 
Kendi kendime konustugum saniliyor
hep yanimdadir oysa
giderken biraktigin yüz havlun
bozdun saklambaç oyununu ama
bana gizlendigim yerden
çik demeyi unuttun
 
Her gece yatmadan okudugum
bir kitap olmani isterdim
kirardim isiklari söndürmeden
yarim kalan sayfanin ucunu
ki sen buna tenim kirisiyor
yaslaniyorum derdin
 
Yoklugundan geri kalan çölde
attigim her adimda
gözlerimden dökülür
hörgücümde tasidigim sular
sevgilisinin gölgesinden uzak
çölde aglayan deve ölür
 
Hava kararirken usulca
bir zenci olup
kaliyorum Salacak kiyisinda
ve Kiz Kulesi
Ku Klux Klan
gibi duruyor karsimda
 

Face Cloth

At the age when Jesus was crucified,
I find myself nailed to life
by two children holding my hands ‚—
a burden as difficult to bear
as a truck overloaded with breakable goods ‚—
rinsed clean away with the dregs of love.
You think I'm just talking to myself.
But what's always with me
is the face cloth you left behind.
You spoilt our game of hide-and-seek ‚—
you forgot to tell me to come out
from my hiding place.
Each night I go to bed
wishing you were the book I was reading ‚—
the page I'd crease and leave unread
before turning off the lights.
To which you'd reply,
My skin is getting creased.
I'm growing old.
Every step I take
across the desert of your absence,
tears spill from my eyes,
from the waters I have borne on my back.
Far from the shadow of its mate,
the desolate camel dies alone in the desert.
As night descends,
I too turn black.
Stranded on the shore of Salacak,
Kiz Kulesi, Leander's Tower,
looms across the water
like a threat.
 

Salacak is a suburb on the eastern side of Istanbul. Kiz Kulesi literally means ‘the Maiden’s Tower’, but is widely known in English as ‘Leander’s Tower’ (after the legend of Hero and Leander). It is one of the most famous landmarks in Istanbul.

Translated by Dilek Unsal and The Poetry Translation Workshop.

Face Cloth

The age when Jesus was crucified
Holding from the hollow of my hands
I am nailed to life with two children
Being a water that I have rinsed the love glass with
Like a lorry carrying fragile goods
It's difficult to bear
They assume that I am talking to myself
Whereas it's always with me
The face towel you left while leaving
You ruined the hide and seek game but
From my hiding place
You forgot to tell me to get out
Before I go to bed every night
I wanted you to be the book I read
I would fold before switching the lights off
The tip of the book that I left half unread
To that- you would say my skin is getting wrinkled
I am getting old
In the desert from your absence
In every step I take
Pours out from my eyes
The waters I carried on my hump
Far from its lover's shadow
The crying camel dies in the desert.
When the weather darkens gently/slowly
By becoming a black person
I remain in the coast /shore of Salacak
And Kiz Kulesi (Maiden Tower)
Stands opposite of me like Ku Klux Klan
 

Original Poem by

Sunay Akin

Translated by

Dilek Unsal with The Poetry Translation Workshop Language

Turkish

Country

Turkey