The Street Clover(Karanfil Sokagi) Poem by Metin Sahin

all the horizons are held in military barracks
all the four disrections, the sixteen winds
and the seven climates and the five continents
are all underneath the whlte heavy snow
But..we are doomed to meet again
by railway, asphalt roads, highways and by stone roads
but this is my steep roads my foot-path I prefer
Taurus, anti Taurus and the river..the rebelling EUPHRATES
tobacco, cotton, wheat plains and the rice fields,
my country all over, all along suddenly
is uinder the white snow completely

some are still fighting with each other
in this weather
with hands and feet frozen..their hearts hell
hope...regretful and gloomy
hope stubborn and always honest
but drawn back ti the mountains
and also are under the white snows
i know the folk songs under the avalanches
images, statues and the sagas
alll are the masterpieces of skillful hands
the armless, half naked venus
the street trans no name
garic Lorka's grave
the unknown soldier
and the eye apples of madam and monsieur Pierre CURIE
are also under the snow

their walls made uo of hard long lasting stones
the skirts are also under the snow
my longing very delicate to ankara
let the wolves love the misty weather
let walk on the asphalt road the month december
i d o not like that month
very changing and unreliable one
how many times we had counted the days
how many times we longed and waited for warm weather
nobody does not know
my heart, my bosom and my painful love
are also still under the snow

in the slums the weather is unclear and misty
the skies of altindag are covered with clouds cumulus
the children..who gain their living and bread by big bazaar baskets on backs
with lungs little but with big hands
reach to love and love with them and grow
never enough to to warm their palms their breaths
all try to attend to primary schools
and in summer they watch the storks
strolling in open sewage pits
and all the children of the slum districts
are also under the heavy fallen snows

the weather at the other side of the brook hatip is warm
the boulvards are gay and newly awakened in the New City..Yenisehir
an new day has bloomed in the clover street..karanfil sokagi
guess..how i know alll these
the reasons are bare walking on the streets
all the sufficant clues are all naked everywhere in the streets
in the clover street.. a glass covered green house warm and hot
in the greenhouse a china flower-POT
on it a limb of a tree wavers in blues
and a crimson..firefolk folk song gloomy
reaching and hurting the bosoms
but do not take these into consideration..never mind these
though they seem to grow artificially in flower- pots
the roots of them are still in ALTINDAG and in INCESU slum districts

Ahmet ARIF
Translation Metin sahin