Becoming The Sea Poem by Gokmen Doyuran

Do you remember, don't you,
How close we were to becoming the sea,
But there were rules to follow;
We had to have enough fish to feed ten children,
Enough waves to wet the hems of our dresses...
The government men came and counted,
They said the waves were loud enough,
But with only one fish, we missed becoming the ocean.
Yes, we were just children,
Our elbows salted, our faces blue,
Girls from such families, boys from such others,
Anchored by the burden of yearning to flee...
If only we'd had one more fish,
By now, we could have been the sea...