POEM WITH A TAIL

We can't be seen together. Our paths are separate.
You belong to the butcher, I am an alley cat.
You eat from a nickeled plate.
I eat from the lion's mouth.
You dream of love. I dream of bones.

But your path isn't easy either, pal,
Not easy
To wag a tail every godforsaken day.




Orhan Veli
Translated by Murat Nemet-Nejat, 1989