As the sky, like a rusted dagger,
Plunged into the bosom of the evening,
Everything was stained crimson.
It was no wildfire
It was the shadow of an unnamed transformation
Creeping across my skin.
Firebirds emerged,
Those ancient birds…
Yet, how I had fled from myself.
Now I must hide
For sometimes, one fears
Being caught by oneself.
My right side is night,
My left, an ash-colored sea.
Firebirds wander through my hair;
An old murmur hidden in every strand.
I wait in silence,
Hoping they might fly to distant lands;
Hoping no one but me
Might hear the fire burning within.
Time seems to have stood still;
Hours, within a shattered mirror,
Keep repeating the very same moment.
I have made a vow:
I am with myself now.
Without seeking refuge in anyone,
Without bowing to anyone’s shadow.
Yet still, they hover above me;
Like a destiny,
Like the looping chorus of a song.
And I,
In the crimson twilight of an ancient city,
Am searching for the final night
Where I might hide myself.
English Translation by Mesut Şenol