Journey Poem by Metin Sahin

far... far away at night
the ıllumınatıon of the airports
reflected in the sky like a white fire
and the trains
which ı had missed tore and carried away
something from me
and dived into the darkness sparklıng and brilliant
ı have made a journey
ı have made a journey
the eyes of the human beings were whiter than the white
the decayed waters were smelling carrions
I have crossed the swamp of the stupidity and the lies
ı have made a journey
with the women..stooping
their fists pressed firmly on their stomachs
and with the women
runnıng bare feet in front of the winds
I have made a journey
with the dead who were forgotten
in the battle-fields..in the barricades
and in the trenches
I have made a journey
crossing the cities
whose pitch roads were wet with the dawn
in the lorries carrying the prisoners
I have made a journey
new buıldings were being erected in the construction sites
very green were the hopes
like newly sprouting pines
and underneath the earth
1000 meters below the ground
lamps of fire-damp were burning hesitantly in silent glows
on the fore-heads of the human beings
I have made a journey
in moonlight..at night..and in daylight
with four seasons
with all the times and ages
with bugs..with grass and with the stars
and together with the most honest men on earth
that is to say
like a merciful violin or a fiddle
or being cruel like a child who cannot talk yet
or being courageous like a child who cannot speak yet
or shortly to say
with the ease of the birds
who are ready to die
or ready to live for thousands of years

Nazım HİKMET
Translation...Metin ŞAHİN