a moment of my face in the wind
the night rests on us as an ancient time
our thoughtfulness looks intertwined
I am learning to look at myself in the darkness of the sky
my face is as delicate as a rose
and one day, everyone will turn to blue
the sky with its mouth open was the time of the gypsies
at your doorstep, rains descended upon time would shiver
Istanbul’s naked hands resembling love were all over the places,
and before me, beyond description, the night and your image would stretch out
part of my mind would stay on a colt that the night could not get
how fast it would run, racing against the feet of time
with your long absence
moreover, love making would lead not up to the morning, but into eternity
a mystical sky above me,
at my window, love driven mad by loneliness
then stellar streams that do not pass through my hair
and I have no idea your eyes
made which lands their home
oh, if only you would come to me escaping like a bird
if your peony-hued lips were to rub my temples
if you became the carrier of ember for my loveless days,
bringing dream to my chilled to the bone heart
and to my eyes, which shed tears not for the rain or winter, but for the age
you are absent!
when you are not here, I am deprived of everything
it is not your scent wandering across my chest, but a terrifying snake
either this love or this life without you must be killed
either eternity must be granted to the earth by your hands, or an end
look and listen!
an old song turning on my tongue,
always new, for you
you, the expected one, come now, otherwise longing would kill itself.
Or else, is it me?..
English Translation by Mesut Şenol