Tea

1.
The sound of nightingales, of ripening strawberries
the weak morning tea
in his hand extended towards me
the incited ease
but we got used to living like culprits
where, oh, where should one hide it

Our souls which he closed we closed tightly
touched one another (for the first time?)
flattening out the sea vanished
in a dream we were, if it weren’t for the sound of fishermen’s boats

2.
the mountains lilac-colored and dark
kept approaching and overcame us
we were lost we were in the lost country
we touched the silence with the wing of a sparrow

we denounced
the sky, the heavy clouds, the bay
we denounced that which sank and vanlshed
the evening, going past the old voices of the neighbors
drew us in
with the taste of yogurt and apple

Gülten Akın, “Tea” (English translation: Suat Karantay)

Bülbüllerin, kızaran çileklerin sesi

bana doğru uzanmış elindeki

açık sabah çayı

kışkırtılan gönenç

suçlu gibi yaşamaya alıştık biz oysa

onu nereye nereye saklamalı

yıllarca sımsıkı kapattığı kapattığımız

ruhlarımız (ilk mi) birbirine değdi

düzleşe düzleşe yitti deniz

düşteydik, teknelerin sesi balıkçılar olmasa

dağlar eflatun ve kara

gitgide yaklaşarak üstümüze geldi

yittik yitik ülkedeydik

değdik

kırlangıcın kanadıyla sessizliğe

reddettik

göğü, ağır bulutları, koyu

batıp gideni reddettik

akşam, yaşlı seslerinden geçerek komşuların

yoğurdun ve elmanın tadıyla

bizi derinine aldı

Gülten Akın, “Çay”

The sound of nightingales, of flushing strawberries

in his hand held out to me

weak morning tea

agitated ease

somehow we had grown used to living like culprits

where, where should we hide them

our souls that he closed we closed tightly

now (for the first time?) brush off one another

the sea flattened out flattened out and disappeared

we in a dream, but for the sound of the boats of the fishermen

the mountains dark and violet

surely so surely they approached and overran us

we the lost in the land of the lost

brushed

silence with the wing of a sparrow

we denied

the sky, the heavy clouds, the bay

all that sank without a trace

the evening, passing through the old voices of the neighbors

in the taste of apple and yoghurt

drew us down into the depths

Gülten Akın, “Tea” (English translation: Neil P. Doherty)

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