on longing: turkish idioms of ache and absence
here are some of my favourite turkish idioms that speak to the slow-burn of missing, of yearning, of hearts left open like windows.
burnumda tütmek “to smoke in my nose” missing something so deeply it lingers like scent - a mother’s cooking, a lover’s voice, the sea in summer.
gözüm yollarda kaldı “my eyes remained on the road” the kind of waiting where your eyes stretch far past the horizon. hope held like breath.
içimde ukde kaldı “it remained an ache inside me” for all the unspoken things, the unfinished conversations, the goodbye you didn’t get to say.
hasret kaldım “i was left with longing” a hollowing kind of missing. not just absence, but hunger.
yüreğim dağlandı “my heart got scorched” grief and longing braided together. an ache so sharp it burns.
gönlüm sende kaldı “my heart stayed with you” when someone walks away but takes a part of you with them.
içi içine sığmamak “one’s inside doesn’t fit into oneself” when the longing swells and spills. too much feeling for one body.
aylar, yıllar oldu “it’s been months, years” a time-stretching ache. absence counted in seasons.
