as if it were yesterday
you are twenty-three
the rain has painted the sky in seven colors after a sweet slumber
while the birds of the south take flight within you, muhammad has entered your dream
with a date from paradise in his hand, the taste of a morsel still lingering in your throat
how is it possible to turn bitterness into honey
when the god of the house has died, leaving the scent of jasmine upon the cushions
the sun has sweated onto your pillow, as the left valve of your heart falters
and the arteries of your main vessels pulse
as if it were yesterday
you are twenty-three
you have arrived, having crossed through springs and lilacs, a snowdrop in your hand
shouldering this city, what a grand adventure it is to redraw everything from scratch
the forest shedding its colors, the wild, impulsive fury of the water
a leopard losing its way one night atop a world left gasping for breath
setting aside the stars and the pines, you have wished to live through one more summer
your vitality has echoed through the rooms, brushing past the torn silence
you have turned back from mistakes that can never be mended
English Translation by Mesut Şenol