Category Archives: Reflections

January 19, 2020 · 7:00 am

“A Duet with Xue Tao”

A Duet with Xue Tao

Xue Tao:

My soul, conforming to this crescent,
dwindles
and flying, now chases a gathering of skies.
Its fine light form, against the darkness, fills
again
and, from all this world of men, its circle can
be seen.

[Xue Tao, “Moon” in The Brocade River Collection]

hülya n. yılmaz:

a gentle wind
lowers itself onto the arid leaf
thirsty for the attar of a new breath
awaiting in patience the first drop
underneath layers of the frozen white

it whispers promises anew
unlocks the box after Pandora leaves

she has been tricked . . .

no ill seeps through this time
the bolt’s ice will not be melting yet
in joyous dance unite hope and smiles
dreams and love recover again

Goethe calls out as if for me:

“Muses, help me with art,
To suffer joy’s pain!”

Ludwig Uhland’s painless joy
cuddles me with a kissing breeze:

“Oh fresh scent, oh new sound!
Now, poor heart, fear not!
Now everything, everything must change.”

[hülya n. yılmaz, “a gentle wind” in Aflame, Memoirs in Verse]

 

(c) hülya n. yılmaz (October 19, 2019)

This post displays one of my three poems that have been included in the November 2019 issue of The Year of the Poet, published by Inner Child Press International.

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January 12, 2020 · 7:00 am

A HAIKU

rivers flow through it
mortal life must be led thus
permanence, a laugh

(c) hülya n. yılmaz, 1.8.2020

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January 5, 2020 · 7:00 am

“before you were born”

before you were born

i am not known for mincing my words
you have seen my brutal honesty many a time
whenever it was about the facts of my life
even with confessions difficult to bear
i made sure i spoke each of them to you
in all the details i needed you to hear

so, you already know . . .
as the odd one out
among my marriage-craving friends
of my carefree youth
i had never desired to be a wife
i expected more from life

you also knew,
i had never yearned to be a mother
not because i had no love for children
quite the contrary has been true!
i simply used to think
motherhood was not meant for me

but then, you happened, BirTanem!

(i lived and continue in highest gratitude to live
that incomparable, breathtaking love of and for you
thanks to you, i am living it also
in and with my two little big loves,
Toruncanlarım)

oh yes, i do!

four years into my marriage
you, BirTanem, a rarest gem
poured meaning to my being
the Sun woke up and began to shine
water started to run and tasted divine
overjoyed, the air rained on me in a trance
awakened was anew my womanly shrine

to this date
i am great-filled for the fate
that brought me your father
i will be thankful to my destiny
beyond eternity

for
you,
my Sun,
my water,
my breath,
are one of a kind!

© hülya n. yılmaz, 10.24.2019

From: Canlarım, My Lifeblood – My newest book of poetry in Turkish and English (a private edition, December 2019)

 

 

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December 29, 2019 · 7:00 am

A Rumi-Quote in Three Languages

A timeless spiritual and philosophical mind, Rumi has recently captivated my attention with a yet another meaningful statement. I had run into the quote in its German version, and then translated it into English and Turkish:

“Ich habe viele Menschen gesehen, die keine Kleider an hatten; ich habe auch viele Kleider gesehen, in denen keine Menschen waren.”

“Çok insan gördüm ki, üstlerinde giysi yoktu; çok ta giysi gördüm, içlerinde insan bulunmuyordu.”

“I have seen many people who did not have any clothes on them; I have also seen many a clothing, in which no person was found.”

 

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December 22, 2019 · 7:00 am

“Aren’t You Afraid to . . .”

aren’t you afraid to go to those places?

must i fear life?
no, you say?

why, then, should i deprive myself
from experiencing a loving embrace
in countries that enchant countless others
with their people utterly beautiful, inside and out
who despite my lack of their tongue
enwrap me
accept me
show their desire
to understand me
unconditionally

was i afraid to journey there?
of course not! no!
whatever for?
love, after all, is
and will forever be
here for us and with us all!

(c) hülya n. yılmaz
From my latest book, this and that

Background: Before embarking on a 2-month-long trip abroad, I was asked the question that serves as the title of my poem here. My travels were known to include various countries in the Middle East. Stigmas accompanied some dear people who seemed concerned about my safety / well-being in those places.

To order, please go to my Inner Child Press-link at hülya n. yılmaz or the Amazon-link at hülya n. yılmaz

 

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December 15, 2019 · 7:00 am

“a plea to us all”

a plea to us all

oh, my beloved humanity
take down all the walls of collective shame
we need love’s glow alone at our being’s core
deep within our souls’ all-embracing precious frame
right at this very moment, and henceforth, through eternity

(c) hülya n. yılmaz, December 28, 2018

*I had submitted this poem as one of the five to be featured at the 2019 UNESCO Poetry event in British Columbia.

 

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December 8, 2019 · 7:00 am

Back in the Farm . . .

Back in the Farm . . .
as my beloved would say
to make heavy matters
not weigh me down
but we both know it too well
this sickness has its way
to stay deep in our psyche
because the white man
knows not to let it be

the urge to root for slavery
is etched in his DNA

history repeats itself indeed
his barbarism, his most addictive weed

as i write down these words in despair
i am filled with paralyzing thoughts
as i am acutely aware
this disease does not yield itself
to be an easy repair

(c) hülya n. yılmaz, 11.20.2019

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December 1, 2019 · 7:00 am

Our Elderly

We say we love them.
And we most certainly do.
Then comes the end of their time.
We are not there. We are never there.

One by one, my elderly passed away.
Today still, my heart runs astray.
Neither my mind nor my heart
Is able at any peaceful point to find
The means to console me on my own way

They face death alone . . .

Leaving an unfillable void in our soul.

(c) hülya n. yılmaz, 11.29.2019

~ ~ ~
When my last elderly has transitioned on November 26, 2019 far away from me, this poem came into being.

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November 17, 2019 · 7:00 am

In the Silence of the Night

when the body acts out
your own mortality
taps you on the shoulder

you don’t self-indulge in angst
thoughts of those who have suffered
and suffer hourly sharpen their silhouettes
right before your mind’s eyes
the heart is not far behind

you then arrive at a crossroads
taking the yet-untravelled path
surrounded by the peace of silence

you realize that against all odds
change might be on its way

to your surprise
you hold it by the hand
you no longer resist

like the ripples in a river
siding with its force
floating alongside
strong yet once again
on your own feet
you stand

(c) hülya n. yılmaz, 11.7.2019

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November 10, 2019 · 7:00 am

A HAIKU

the voice of silence
rustles in the night’s quiet
rivers always flow

(c) hülya n. yılmaz, 11.7.2019

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