One day, everyone leaves
but some, as they depart,
also switch off the light in the room.
And so, you
you are among those who learned
to grow accustomed to the darkness early on.
In your pocket, there is a broken watch
it does not tell the time,
but it serves as a reminder to wait.
When you rest your head upon someone’s shoulder,
the city falls silent
even the sirens grow ashamed of their own sound.
You have labored so hard
your hands have grown calloused, not from fatigue,
but from having been spent in vain.
They told you to “endure,”
as if enduring
were a virtue,
and as if not breaking
were a crime.
You loved someone
when they smiled,
the future seemed possible
only to learn, later,
that some smiles
are merely on loan.
You never fashioned sentences to defend yourself,
because words
always arrived too late.
You did not quite fit into this world
perhaps you were too much,
or perhaps not enough,
but you could never truly belong.
Now, you carry the night within you
while everyone else sleeps,
you remain awake, face-to-face with life.
And this
this is not defeat.
Some people survive,
while others bear witness.
English Translation by Mesut Şenol