Sage

Özdemir İNCE

SAGE

My dreams! you used to say
my dreams shouldn't frighten you
but you should also be aware of the world.

As if!
I'd said it all
but all the words had erased themselves.

As if!
I'd seen it all, even the most arcane revelations
but they had been shrouded in darkness.

As if!
I'd heard it all, even the sounds beyond sound,
but had forgotten all the images.

As if!
I'd walked all the roads in vain
realizing that none of them leads anywhere.

As if!
Two armies had attacked each other
and inside of my body only a scream remains.

As if!
I'd filled a jug with water and taken a handful of soil
from the shadow of the sea and the earth.

O then I became a wind that had once blown
a flood that had overflown
a rain that had rained down.

My dreams! you used to say
my dreams shouldn't frighten you:
Death never kills anyone!

Translated by Simon Pettet and Ülker İnce