along rivers i have seen women
women through whom
river porsuk runs
i have seen each
at least a hundred times
it is their lot
to hold onto hopeless love
& it is their lot
to live growing sparser
against the steppe
each gives a man everything
that she's got
i have seen all that i've seen
in women through whom
river porsuk runs
river kızılırmak be damned
and fall, fall to pieces
a piece of black bread
a dime for henna, red
along dirt and gravel
their folk songs travel
in the dark they remain
partly covered
& partly nude
& their large eyes, oh mother
so frail, mournful and tender
who could've frightened
this many women
one could only wonder
once the train arrives at
the banks of river dicle
a vast stretch of sky that
one just keeps going at
when generally at first
their eyebrows appear
then their eyes that blink
sleepless not even a wink
and their cheeks bearing
abscesses like dried roses
you too might at some point
find yourselves in the country
and see for yourselves
the women dutifully fated
to be defeated
it lies between the bone and the blade
between the quiet and the tears shed
the defeated
women
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translated from the poem "nehirler boyunca kadınlar gördüm" by cemal süreya
translation of the poem “nehirler boyunca kadınlar gördüm” by cemal süreya
