A Selection of Poems by Bejan Matur
Translated from the Turkish by Ruth Christie
Earth's Dream
In its loneliness the night sky
thought,
Why these stars?
Why this voice humming in my heart of darkness?
When the voices recede
what’s left
but oppression gnawing at my soul?
If the Pole Star moves one second from its place,
does the fisherman lose his way?
Does the shepherd forget his whistle?
Perhaps nothing,
nothing, can alter the truth of me.
I am earth’s dream.
A sleeper ending his sleep
will see when he wakes,
real darkness beyond
In its loneliness the night sky
thought,
Why these stars?
Why this voice humming in my heart of darkness?
When the voices recede
what’s left
but oppression gnawing at my soul?
If the Pole Star moves one second from its place,
does the fisherman lose his way?
Does the shepherd forget his whistle?
Perhaps nothing,
nothing, can alter the truth of me.
I am earth’s dream.
A sleeper ending his sleep
will see when he wakes,
real darkness beyond
|
Yeryüzünün Düşü
Göğün gecesi yalnızken Düşünmüş, Bu yıldızlar niçin? Neden içimin karanlığında uğuldayan bu ses? Sesler çekilse Ne kalır Ruhumu kemiren boğuntudan geriye? Kutup yıldızı yerinden oynasa bir an, Balıkçı mı şaşırır yolunu, Çoban mı unutur ıslığını? Belki de hiçbir şey, Hiçbir şey hakikatimi değiştirmez. Yeryüzünün düşüyüm ben Uykusunu bitiren insan Uyanınca görecek Asıl karanlık ötede. |
Every Woman Knows Her Own Tree
When I came to you
I was going to open my wings
over that deserted city
built of black stones,
and find a tree and perch on its branches
and shout with pain.
Every woman knows her own tree.
That night I flew.
I passed over the city that darkness feared to enter.
Having no shadow the soul
was lonely.
I howled like a dog.
When I came to you
I was going to open my wings
over that deserted city
built of black stones,
and find a tree and perch on its branches
and shout with pain.
Every woman knows her own tree.
That night I flew.
I passed over the city that darkness feared to enter.
Having no shadow the soul
was lonely.
I howled like a dog.
|
Her Kadın Kendi Ağacını Tanır
Sana geldiğimde Kanatlarımı, Siyah taşlarla örülmüş O ıssız şehrin üzerinde açacak, Bulduğum bir ağacın dallarına tüneyecek Ve acıyla bağıracaktım. Her kadın kendi ağacını tanır. Uçtum o gece. Karanlığın girmeye korktuğu şehri geçtim. Gölge olmayınca ruh yalnızdı. Uludum. |
Black Rain
Cover me up.
Let me change my shell,
like day, like birds of the morning.
While a black rain falls.
Cover me up.
Let me change my shell,
like day, like birds of the morning.
While a black rain falls.
|
Kara Bir Yağmur
Ört üstümü. Kabuk değiştireyim. Gün gibi, kuşları gibi sabahın. Kara bir yağmur yağarken. |
Night Spent in the Temple of a Patient God
I.
You chose your exile among rainswept mountains.
Where you lingered last night
was the home of the patient god
the home where a human is equipped with compassion.
No need for temples, I said.
This is simply a place.
The human soul must surely be a temple.
And rain the river of homelessness
reminds us of god and childhood.
II.
You chose your exile among rainswept mountains.
The beauty of making mistakes
and the peace of pain.
Everything led you to emptiness.
And you, you looked at the pale flowers of patience and wept.
You slept in his arms as though nothing existed.
There shall be a journey made to the mountain and exile chosen.
And a human wanted from god.
We must listen again to that music.
That place was not meant for loving.
I.
You chose your exile among rainswept mountains.
Where you lingered last night
was the home of the patient god
the home where a human is equipped with compassion.
No need for temples, I said.
This is simply a place.
The human soul must surely be a temple.
And rain the river of homelessness
reminds us of god and childhood.
II.
You chose your exile among rainswept mountains.
The beauty of making mistakes
and the peace of pain.
Everything led you to emptiness.
And you, you looked at the pale flowers of patience and wept.
You slept in his arms as though nothing existed.
There shall be a journey made to the mountain and exile chosen.
And a human wanted from god.
We must listen again to that music.
That place was not meant for loving.
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Sabır Tanrısının Tapınağında Konaklama
I. Yağmurlu dağların arasından gurbetini seçtin. Son gece beklediğin yer Sabır tanrısının eviydi. İnsanı merhametle donatmanın evi. Tapınaklara gerek yok dedim. Burası sadece bir yer. İnsanın ruhu tapınak kılınmalı. Ve yağmur, yersizliğin nehri. Tanrıdan ve çocukluktan hatırlanan II. Yağmurlu dağların arasından gurbetini seçtin. Yanılmanın güzelliği Ve huzuru acının. Her şey seni bir boşluğa uladı. Ve sen, sarı sabır çiçeklerine bakıp ağladın. Onun koynunda yokmuş gibi uyudun. Bir dağa gidilecek, gurbet seçilecek. Ve insan istenecek tanrıdan. Tekrar dinlemeli o müziği. Sevişmenin tamamlanmadığı o yer. |
Creation
Listen and look, mountains rise into being.
Underground rivers shrink
to sluggish inner blood.
A lapis-blue vein
atoms of dust.
Perhaps only a wind knows earth.
The wind touches trees and humans and dies away.
Listen and look, mountains rise into being.
Underground rivers shrink
to sluggish inner blood.
A lapis-blue vein
atoms of dust.
Perhaps only a wind knows earth.
The wind touches trees and humans and dies away.
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Yaradılış
Dinle bak, dağlar oluşuyor. Yer altı nehirleri çekiliyor İçinin pıhtılaşmış kanına. Lapis bir damar Toz zerreleri. Belki bir rüzgâr tanıyor yeryüzünü. Ağaçlara ve insana dokunup ölüyor rüzgâr. |
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