MUM

Was I really born of you, mum,

when there are the paths, the rivers, the morning?

Is a child born of a human?

Mum, would your heart endure it if it were made of stone?

Wouldn’t the violet on the stem hang its head in pain

if it were a bird, a flower, a day?

Mum, let the mountains give birth to me this time.

And you be a mild rain,

and rain continuously on my bleeding wounds!

© Haydar Ergülen

ANNE

Sahi senden mi doğdum anne?

Yollar, nehirler, kuşluk vakitleri dururken.

Bir insandan mı doğar bir çocuk?

Anne senin yüreğin taş olsa dayanır mı?

Kuş olsa, çiçek olsa, gündüz olsa,

kırılmaz mı acıdan bir sap menekşenin boynu?

Bu kez dağlar doğursun beni anne.

Sen de ılık bir yağmur ol,

durmadan yağ kanayan yerlerime!

.

© Haydar Ergülen

MUTTER

wurde ich wirklich aus Dir geboren, Mutter,

wo es doch die Wege, die Flüsse, den Morgen gibt?

Wird ein Kind von einem Menschen geboren?

Mutter, würde dein Herz es aushalten, wenn es aus Stein wäre?

Würde das Veilchen am Stiel seinen Kopf vor Schmerz nicht hängen lassen,

wenn es ein Vogel, eine Blume, ein Tag wäre?

Mutter, lass´ diesmal die Berge mich gebären.

Und sei Du ein milder Regen,

und regne ununterbrochen auf meine blutenden Wunden.

© Haydar Ergülen

Haydar Ergülen (born 1956) is one of the most prominent poets writing in Turkey today. Author of more than a dozen books of poetry and another dozen of essays, his work is only beginning to appear in English. His most recent book is Öyle Küçük Şeyler (Kırmızı Kedi, 2016). He lives in Istanbul.
 
 

English and German translation from the Turkish by © Çiğdem Gül (Wuppertal, Germany)
Şiiri Türkçe’den İngilizce’ye ve Almanca’ya çeviren: © Çiğdem Gül (Almanya, Wuppertal)
Englische und deutsche Übersetzung: © Çiğdem Gül (Wuppertal, Deutschland)

Picture: © Courtesy of Ukrainian art photographer Irina Dzhul (Netherlands)