Birdenbire – Suddenly
by Orhan Veli Kanık
Everything happened in a flash.
Suddenly sunlight struck the earth;
All at once there was sky;
Suddenly blue.
Everything happened in a flash;
Suddenly fumes rose from the earth;
All at once there were buds and sprouts.
Suddenly fruit.
In a flash;
In a flash;
Suddenly everything existed.
Suddenly a girl, suddenly a boy;
Paths, prairies, cats, people…
All at once there was love,
Suddenly happiness.
English translation by E. Geddes
Her şey birdenbire oldu.
Birdenbire vurdu gün ışığı yere;
Gökyüzü birdenbire oldu;
Mavi birdenbire.
Her şey birdenbire oldu;
Birdenbire tütmeye başladı duman topraktan;
Filiz birdenbire oldu, tomurcuk birdenbire.
Yemiş birdenbire oldu.
Birdenbire,
Birdenbire;
Her şey birdenbire oldu.
Kız birdenbire, oğlan birdenbire;
Yollar, kırlar, kediler, insanlar…
Aşk birdenbire oldu,
Sevinç birdenbire.
Paintings by Asher Brown Durand, William Trost Richards, George Inness