THE SEA

I, in my room overlooking the seashore,
Not looking out of the window,
Know that the boats sailing out in the sea
Go loaded with watermelons.

The sea, as I used to do,
Likes to move its mirror on my ceiling
And tease me.

The smell of seaweed
And the masts of sailboats pulled up onto the shore
Remind the children living on the seaside
Of nothing.




Orhan Veli
Translated by Murat Nemet-Nejat, 1989