What Burns Me Is This Snow Poem by Timur Kocaoglu

Snow up to my knees in Michigan
who would notice do you suppose?
my longing for you / o my pal
Istanbul / flows inflamed in cold
and burns the lining of my coat.

I walk after I put on my eyeglasses
in case I meet an acquaintance
who would invite me to a house
which smells of freshly brewed coffee
even a postcard of the Bosphorous
would completely transcend our moods.

Snow, wherever I turn, nothing but snow
what burns me is this snow…


(Jan.13,2011 / East Lansing, Michigan)