FAZIL HÜSNÜ DAGLARCA Seçme Siirler * Selected Poems

Translated by Talat Sait Halman

"Çakirin Destani" ndan - Vuzuh, el ve ayak halinde onu rahatsiz ediyordu. Karar vermisim, ölecegim, Büyük sular arasinda, korkusuz. Nur ile, uzak yazilar ile, Bir muska gibi boynumda kalacak, Bu husus. Senelerce evvel, tohumlarin mavi zamanindan evvel, Karar vermisim, gece kuslarinin müsaadesinde, Etrafima bos ve büyük kadehler dizecegim. Ve seyredecegim onlari sultanlar gibi; Kurumus ölülerin içmek hevesinde. Havadan hafif ve bazi kadinlardan daha eski, Çirilçiplak dogdugumuza dair; Cihan boyunca, sehirlerle, daglarla devam eden, Vaktin nebatlarla sallanan güzelligi, Bir yadigarlik ki bilinir. Aklin zina oldugu yerde, Taslar, odunlar gibi yavas. Tarihin beyaz ve aydinlik havasindan, Karar vermisim, ölecegim, Büyük hayvan iskeletleriyle sirdas.

Extract from "The Epic of Cakir" - Clarity, in the form of hands and feet, made him uneasy. I decided I shall die In the midst of mighty rivers, without fear. In the light and with remote inscriptions, The fact will hang and stay around my neck Like an amulet with a prayer. Years ago, before the blue age of the seeds, I decided, with the consent of the birds of night, I shall surround myself with big empty beakers, And with the thirst of dried up corpses, Like a sultan I shall stare at them in delight. Lighter than air, more ancient than some women, The truth of our starknaked birth... Perpetual in cities and hills the world over Time's beauty sways with the flora, A remembrance cherished for its worth. Slowly, like rocks and logs Within the mind's adultery, From the white and bright sky of history, I decided I shall die And share with animal skeletons life's mystery.