SOME of the VERY BEST POEMS of

ORHAN VEL a Turkish Poet

Fine Days
These fine days have been my ruin.
On this kind of day I resigned
My job in 'Pious Foundations'
On this kind of day I started to smoke
On this kind of day I fell in love
On this kind of day I forgot
To bring home bread and salt
On this kind of day I had a relapse
Into my versifying disease.
These fine days have been my ruin.
Orhan Veli KANIK (Translated by Bernard Lewis /1982)

I Listen To Istanbul
I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed:
First, a light wind blowing
A soft wind swaying
The leaves in the trees,
And far off in the distance
The tinkling cups of the water-seller;
I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed.
I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed:
Now the birds are passing
In high clamoring flocks,
Nets are pulled in at the fisheries,
A woman's feet graze the water;
I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed.
I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed:
The cool covered bazaar,
Mahmutpasha, the courtyards
Filled with warbling pigeons,
Hammer sounds from the docks,
Smells of sweat in my lovely Spring wind;
I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed.

I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed:

An old world drunk in its head,
A waterfront palace with a dark boat shed,
The humming of the lodos ceases inside;
I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed.
I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed:
A pretty young girl walks by
Chased by taunts, come-ons and curses,
Something falls from my hand
Surely a rose;
I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed.
I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed:
A bird is fluttering in your skirts,
Your brow is hot, I know,
Your lips are wet, I know, I know,
A white moon rises behind the pistachio trees
I understand the pounding of your heart;
I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed.
Orhan Veli KANIK

Did I Fall In Love?

I didn't believe I would have thoughts like this,

I would be sleepless at nights,
I would be so silent.
I didn't believe I would not care
Even about the salad that I like so much.
How can I be like this?
Orhan Veli KANIK

All Of A Sudden

Everything happened all of a sudden.

All of a sudden daylight beat down on the earth;
There was the sky all of a sudden;
All of a sudden steam began to rise from the soil.
There were tendrils all of a sudden, buds all of a sudden.
And there were fruits all of a sudden.
All of a sudden,
All of a sudden,
Girls all of a sudden, boys all of a sudden.
Roads, moors, cats, people...

And there was love all of a sudden,

Happiness all of a sudden.
Orhan Veli KANIK
For Istanbul

April
It's impossible
To write poems
If you're in love
And not to
If the month is April
Desires & Memories
Desires are different
So are the memories.
How can anyone live, tell me,
In a town that has no sunshine?
Insects
No use thinking,
Just crave!
See, that's what the insects do.
Invitation
I'm waiting.
Come when the weather is such
That there can be no turning back.
Orhan Veli KANIK

Toward Freedom

Before dawn,
While the sea is still snow-white, you will set sail;
The grip of the oars in your palms,
And in your heart the joy of toil and vigor,
You will go.
In the roll and sway of the nets, you will go.
For welcome, fish will appear on your course
Delighting you.
As you shake the nets,

Scale by scale, the sea will journey into your hands.

When silence pervades the souls of seagulls
In the cemetery of the rocks,
All of a sudden,
All hell will break loose on the horizon:
Mermaids will scuttle and birds scurry...
Saturnalia and festivals, orgies and carnivals,
Bridal processions, masquerades, revelries, carausals...
Heeeyy!
Whaddya waiting for, man, jump in the sea!
Forget who's waitying for you back there.
Don't you see: Freedom is all around you.
Be the sail, the oar, the rudder, the fish, the water,
And go, go whereever you can
Orhan Veli KANIK

Pub
Since I dont love her anymore anyway
Then why would I walk by the pub
Where I every night
Used to drink, thinking about her?
Orhan Veli KANIK
Words
You have one kind of beauty
in the mirror
another in bed.
Ignore their whispers
dress up
put your lipstick on.
Come
just to spite them
to the coffeehouse
at promenade time.
Let them whisper:
you're my friend,
aren't you?

Orhan Veli KANIK

Free

We live
Air is free, clouds are
Valleys and hills are
Rain and mud are

free
free
free
free

The outside of cars

The entrances of cinemas
And the shop windows are free
Bread and cheese cost money, but
Stale water is free
Freedom can cost your head
But prison is free
We live free.
Orhan Veli KANIK
I Can't Tell

If I cry, can you hear my voice,

In my lines;
Can you touch,
My tears, with your hands?
I didn't know that songs were this beautiful,
Whereas words were this insufficient
Before I had this trouble.
There is a place, I know;
It is possible to say everything;
I am pretty close, I can feel;
I can't tell.
Orhan Veli KANIK
The Story Of Ali RZa And Ahmet

How strange is the story of

Ali Rza and Ahmet
One lives in the village
The other in the city
And every morning
The one in the city goes to the village
And the one in the village to the city
Orhan Veli KANIK