A Luxury
no differences
mortality unites us
a virus did it
hülya n. yılmaz, April 2, 2020
(In Turkish translation)
Bir Lüks, 20
hiç bir fark yok
ölümcül olmada biriz
bir virüs yaptı bunu
Türkçe’ye Çeviri: hülya n. yılmaz, 2 Nisan 2020
(In German translation)
Ein Luxus, 20
kein einziger unterschied mehr
eins sind wir in unserer sterblichkeit
ein virus hat’s geschafft
Übersetzung ins Deutsche: hülya n. yılmaz, April 2, 2020
Filed under Poetry, Reflections
Dear visitor, I am posting my weekly HAIKU not only on audio but also as text this time. My Turkish and German translations appear under their designated headings. What I hope to be a more convenient approach for anyone with potential audio-issues comes to you with my heartfelt thanks to a very dear poet friend, Jean-Jacques Fournier, for his suggestion in this direction. (Thank you also for being an avid reader of my poetry and for leaving your precious comments for me to cherish, dearest Jean-Jacques!)
eager ants at work
hauling loads bigger than life
never losing hope
© hülya n. yılmaz, March 11, 2020
~ ~ ~
(In Turkish Translation)
iş başında gayretli karıncalar
hayattan büyük yükler taşımaktalar
asla kaybetmeden umudu
Türkçe’ye Çeviri: © hülya n. yılmaz, 11 Mart 2020
~ ~ ~
(In German Translation)
eifrige ameisen . . . fleissig bei der arbeit
schleppen gewichte . . . schwerer als das leben
die hoffnung geben sie nie auf
Übersetzung ins Deutsche: © hülya n. yılmaz, am elften März, 2020
Filed under Poetry, Reflections
A warm zephyr became my wrap this morning. It reminded me of my Mediterranean’s gentle air. Its vigor of the past, however, no longer stunned me. It still felt lovely, but it faded in me as a memory.
I think I know why it arrived at my doorstep and touched me affectionately. After your brief visit in my dream last night, my version of you had stayed on my mind. No! I did not cry this time. So, please be at ease!
While I have the chance, I want you to tell you where I am today: even then when I hit many a bottomless pit in our days gone by, I have always been grateful to you. I thank you for all the spiritual gifts. I thank you also for all the heartaches. In sum: Thank you for all that which we meant to each other.
As you can see, I let you in only to thank you once more. Be well, dear heart! Be very well! Today and forevermore.
~ ~ ~
From my upcoming new book of prose poetry, Letter-Poems from a Beloved (the original poem was published in my Aflame, Memoirs in Verse, and appears here in its revised version)
Filed under Reflections
While in prison for 27 years,
Nelson Mandela has recited famously
one poem repeatedly:
“Invictus”, as versed by William Ernest Henley
Henley remained on Earth
between 1849 and 1903.
15 years following his death,
our globe was honored by Mandela’s birth.
One day, countless people woke up
to Mandela’s supposedly silenced voice
and learned about the restrictions and violence
he faced throughout his unjust imprisonment.
The now world-renowned Henley-poem
brought to clear view for humanity
self-empowerment’s vitality:
Mandela was anything but a broken man!
An enemy of war just like Aristide Briand,
Carlos Saavedra-Lamas also made history.
Latin America’s first Nobel Peace Prize
belongs to him. The year was 1936.
Born 19 years later,
I, like the poets in this collection,
did always and continue to heed poetry’s call
with an “unconquerable soul”.
I, like the poets in this collection,
arrived here with determination
to pen poems in deep thought and reflection,
showing our respect for him with dedication.
“Invictus” is being re-visited here.
(Minus any time in jail. Thankfully.)
For, through our poetry of and on peace,
we become “the master of [our] fate”.
Not unlike Mandela,
not unlike Saavedra-Lamas,
“I am the captain of my soul.”
You are it, too. Do you not yet know?
© hülya n. yılmaz, March 15, 2020
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Human Bridges” appeared in the April 2020 issue of The Year of the Poet, a monthly book published by Inner Child Press International.
Related Readings:
Nelson Mandela
“Invictus”
William Ernest Henley
Carlos Saavedra Lamas
Aristide Briand
Filed under Poetry, Reflections
The Old Sprite
Accompanied by my imaginative theatrics, the story spread fast and consistently. My immediate and extended family, ever so eager and ready, would confirm that hearsay voluntarily: I was a dancer with a sprite’s flair, that I would improvise ecstatically. Whether over a real or an imagined tune, I would deliver my role as the honor guest of a yet-unheard beat. Leaving every loved one in awe, giving each an extraordinary treat.
Dance steps have always known how to find in me a most loyal companion. I, after all, had the dedication as long as I received undivided attention.
Ample laughter from an adoring audience was always alive. Without me on that imaginary stage, not even a single cadence had a chance to thrive.
In later years, that young bliss came back to me. On a day when I had concluded it was long dead. Hence, I submitted to the magic of the music in my head. However, I did so in disguise. For, my Self was still afraid to re-appear. The melodic joys, thus, ceased to be.
© hülya n. yılmaz, 3.15.2020
~ ~ ~
From my upcoming new book of prose poetry, Letter-Poems from a Beloved
Filed under Reflections
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