SUNAY AKIN
(1962)

White

He was black
and those shooting him were white
the birds taking off to the sky
startled by the gunshot
were pure white

Prostitute

Fearing that she would hurt you
while giving you a bath
how ever so tenderly
would your mother move her hands
on your skin

Screwdriver

As so many nuclear bombs
continue to be fixed with screws
the only hope
against armament
left in the hands of the people
is the screwdriver

The Monument

It is only me who knows
that all the birds
in the world
migrate
in order to piss on
the monuments of the dictators

Translated by Yurdanur Salman

Jam

Never was I able to smile
at her sickbed
that's why mom
was unaware
of the dimple
on my left cheek

As the medicine on the
bedside table accumulated
I would rejoice in
the growing skyscraper
I made from the boxes

And I didn't know
that the only color
in mom's life
was the jams
in the jars
lined up on the shelves.

Translated by Suat Karantay

The Window

The newly-wed bride
keeps her window ajar
so the smell of her meals
in the evening
covers the whole neighbourhood.


The Martyr

They named a ferry
in Istanbul
after me
between two shore
relentlessly I go
back and forth
and look for you
on every quay.


Separation

We're like two
rails of a railroad
what matters if
the last station
is near


Shepherd

The sheep elect
the goat their head
yet the shepherd birngs as tender
the dog, relative of
the wolf.

Translated by Fahri Oz

Sunay Akin was born in Trabzon in 1962, and studied Physical Geography at Istanbul University. His poems were first published in 1984. After graduating from Istanbul University, he co-published two poetry magazines, Yeni Yaprak/The New Leaf in 1989, and Olmaz/Impossible in 1990. He writes his poems in a gentle and lyrical tone, using life’s interesting details as his subject matter. He has published four poetry collections, and in recent years has written short stories and essays on various topics and collected them in nine books. He is currently a lecturer at Marmara University in Istanbul and a producer of various TV and radio shows. He is also a performance poet who holds regular events in Istanbul and around Turkey.