What if I were a cloud – Bulut mu olsam
by Nazım Hikmet
Over sea a transcendent cloud
a silver ship on the sea’s face
yellow fish in its waters
blue algae on its floor
on the shore is a naked man
deep in thought.
Denizin üstünde ala bulut
yüzünde gümüş gemi
içinde sarı balık
dibinde mavi yosun
kıyıda bir çıplak adam
durmuş düşünür.
What if I were a cloud,
or a ship?
What if I were a fish,
or a clump of algae?
Not that, nor that, and not the other.
Man should be the sea, my son,
With clouds, ships, fish, and algae.
Bulut mu olsam,
gemi mi yoksa?
Balık mı olsam,
yosun mu yoksa?
Ne o, ne o, ne o.
Deniz olunmalı, oğlum,
bulutuyla, gemisiyle, balığıyla, yosunuyla.
English translation by E. Geddes
