Best Istanbul Poems

Your expectations are carved into my eyes...
Their shapes melt in my dreams
The face seen in your postcards
Is not that of your soul Istanbul...
Living apart does not change your seas
Your waiting landscapes offer themselves
Thoughts do not remain still
Istanbul rests its weight upon my loneliness...
White fish swim...

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I praise Thee!
Solace of 
Time and devotion,
Amity of nation.
Notion of giving,
Bread of 
Utopia and
Love....

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This famous city of antiquity
had its name changed in 1930.
We once called it Constantinople.
Today, it is known as Istanbul.
People located here in North America,
see it on the map bridging Europe and Asia.
Once capital city of the Byzantines,
it has witnessed many bloody battle scenes.
This is the...

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Istanbul bridge,please take me home.

Take me back to the Anatolian empire,where you used your strength to pull Asia and
Europe together.

Then carried the weight of history and urbanization on your back, you took them to civilization.

Please take me to a land of peace,tourism and productivity,

a land...

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Bir daha gelsem dunyaya Istanbulda
Sehrazatlarin atlari kosturur mu ruyalarimi

Bu ne cenk dipsiz ucurum yedi tepede
Bir girdaptir askim dalgalarin solugunda

Dogmamis her nepze sensiz koklanan erguvana hasret
Tasirmi yuregim sensiz ciga dusmus martilarin kanatlarini

Bir ucurum sensizlik goge donmus yasemin poyrazinda
Her nefesimde dus desem yuregime lodosun tersden eser...

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It's in sadness and sorrow do we find unity
Sometimes it easier to talk it than show it
Terrorism affect every person rich or poor
Anger it is real when it comes to your door
Nothing is so remote in the modern world
But let us remember those who have...

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A grave in Istanbul

He fell down the cargo hold, a long fall
the hold’s floor was made of wood and lessened 
the brutal slam when he hit bottom.
He got up, waved to us and climbed the iron-
the ladder onto the deck, he said he was ok
He...

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We had the craziest time in Istanbul
We were stuck for three months during
the ongoing Pandemic
The bustling city lost it’s rhythm and rhyme
Like a heart that misses a beat one day at that time
The streets grew empty the Café’s were shut
The people were few and the...

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Picture the scene a flat is raging with fire 
Caused by an electrical fault or loose wire
A open window is the route to escape 
Old in structure and square in shape 

The mother cries to the people below 
My children need saving them I must...

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Bir daha gelsem dunyaya Istanbulda
Sehrazatlarin atlari kosturur mu ruyalarimi

Bu ne cenk dipsiz ucurum yedi tepede
Bir girdaptir askim dalgalarin solugunda

Dogmamis her nepze sensiz koklanan erguvana hasret
Tasirmi yuregim sensiz ciga dusmus martilarin kanatlarini

Bir ucurum sensizlik goge donmus yasemin poyrazinda
Her nefesimde dus desem yuregime lodosun tersden eser...

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Yildizlarin elimde ucar
Gozlenmis anilar gune durmus
Egirdesi gunum gerkefinde nakis
Bir yudum su karlarinda erimis yuregim

Nefesinde dogmus gun
Hasretine acamayan gulum
Kesmekesin binbir cumbusu 
Sarildigim yar kandiller

Yedi direkler cadirimda
Yakamozlar acmis lalelere
Eritirmi karlarin gunesi  sensizligi
Raksa sevgi  serefesi  minarelerin

Incirler tirmanmis mihrabin  duvarlarina
Dalgalarin kucaklar gerkefimi...

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I could never sleep through the birds,
every morning it was the first thing I heard.
They would sing their chaotic songs, 
greeting each other as the day moved along.
They took no notice of people walking and 
cars didn't bother them, they just kept squawking.
I couldn't go...

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Turkish Poetry Translations I



Ben Sana Mecburum: "You are indispensable"
by Attila Ilhan
translation by Nurgul Yayman and Michael R. Burch

You are indispensable; how can you not know
that you're like nails riveting my brain? 
I see your eyes as ever-expanding dimensions.
You are indispensable; how can you not know
that...

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