FAZIL HÜSNÜ DAGLARCA Seçme Siirler * Selected Poems

Translated by Talat Sait Halman

Af Aksami Af buyruguyla açilmisti hapishane kapisi Tasiyordu koca burunlar tirasli esneler kara çeneler Dizleri egri omuzlari çarpilmis sirtlar çikik dökülüyordu Vakitlere kapanmis büyük karanliklardan Tasiyordu vay dökülüyordu vay Yirtik pis bitli çirkin Sokagi dolduruyordu terli can ugultusu Geçiriyordu avucunu saskinlikla saçindan saçindan 9 yil yatmis Kolunda anasi kucaginda yavrusu Doldurmustu kapinin önünü kalabalik Kimi ta dag köylerinden kosmus Kimi ta denizlerden Bir özlem sarmis bagri ölümden yüce Sevgiyle ariyorlar parçalarini Heybelerinde ekmek destilerinde su Bir türlü inanamiyordu sokaklara sokaklara 20 yil yatmis Gönüllere sigmaz olmus kavusmak duygusu Öyle sarilir ki geçmise Erir gögsü gögsünde tutuklunun Pismanlik kavaklar tarlalar davarlar için Pismanlik gemilere dügünlere irmaklara Pismanlik besiklerden kagnilardan sessiz Yerce gökçe degil insan dolusu Çilginca kucakliyordu hepimizi hepimizi 5 buçuk yil yatmis Tasar içerde kalanlarin sorusu Çubuk demirler arkasindan mavilige Hem esenlige ermis hem yasli yelcek Bir yurt türküsü yeniler karanligi Zaman yegnik degildir yegniktir Dön de gör anani belleyecek Bos koguslar kurmus pusu Sönük gözü aydinlikla büyüyordu büyüyordu 8 yil yatmis Çikinlarda gecenin binlerce gecenin uyunmamis uykusu Bir yorgunluk çökünce yürünmüs yeryüzünden Kalabalikta dagilir birer ikiser özgür Doguya batiya kuzeye güneye özgür Yüreklerinde bir çig Yasamak sevinci vay Yasamak korkusu Inmeli yani siçriyordu havaya havaya 17 yil yatmis

The Night of the Amnesty Prison gates swung open with the amnesty decree. Out poured big noses, shaven necks, black chins, Knees bent, shoulders deformed, backs wrenched; they rushed Out of huge darknesses closed to time. Huddled together they came, Tattered, filthy, lice-covered, ugly. The street resounded with their sweltering spree. In amazement his palm flitted through his hair again and again. He had served nine years. His mother in his arms, his child giving him hugs -- The crowd seethed in front of the prison gate. Some had rushed all the way from mountain villages, Some from the seas, Their hearts clutched by a longing greater than death. With love they looked for their very own, Bread in their saddlebags, water in their jugs. He couldn't believe the sight of all those streets. He had served seventeen years. The frenzied urge that the heart exudes, Clung to the past with such ardour, She melted away on the convict's chest. Remorse for fields and poplars and cattle, Remorse for ships and weddings and rivers, Remorse for cradles and ox-carts in silence, Not by heaven and earth but in multitudes... He embraced all of us like a madman. He had served five and a half years. The question of those left in jail invades the blue. From behind the iron bars, Both happy and mourning like the wind, A song of the native land renews the dark. Time is not light, yet it is. The empty wards are lying in ambush. If you ever go back, they will torture you. In the light his burnt-out eye grew and grew. He had served eight years. In bundles, the half sleep of a night or a thousand nights Walks away from the earth when fatigue takes hold. Out of the crowd they dispersed in ones and twos, free, To the east and west, to the north and south, free, An avalanche in their hearts -- Life's joys -- Life's frights. His stricken side bobbed and throbbed. He had served seventeen years.