ENVER ERCAN
(1958)
 

POEM 3

I had unraveled
under the spell of a garden
with stars overlooking its pool

she was bending over the water
a swan appeared

did the swan resemble the poppy
or was the poppy the swan

the question did not even occur to me

in that childish afternoon
when words retreated into silence
                         time
was kissing everthing it passed by.

Translated by Suat Karantay
 

Enver Ercan (1958, Istanbul) grew up in Istanbul and studied at Haydarpaşa High School. He was the literary director of the journal Yeni Düşün (1986-1988). He worked as an editor at the newspapers Güneş and Sabah and at various literary journals and publishing houses. He is the editor-in-chief of the journal Varlık and owner of both the poetry journal Yasak Meyve and Komşu Publishing, which prints books of poetry. He has likewise prepared anthologies and has interviewed masters of Turkish poetry. His first poem, “Eksik Yaşam”/“Life Missed”, was published in the journal Hayat Resimli Roman (1977). His candid style is filled with irony and humour. He uses a conversational language in his poetry when writing about female-male relationships and themes of love and separation. His poetry and narratives have been published in journals such as Yeni Olgu, Yeni Düşün, Varlık, Gösteri, Sanat and Broy and in the newspapers Güneş and Cumhuriyet. His books of poetry: Eksik Yaşam/Life Missed (1977), Sürçüyor Zaman/Time Falters (1988) and Geçtiği Her Şeyi Öpüyor Zaman/Time Kisses Everything In Passing (1997).