Long Baser Poems

Turkish Poetry Translations II

Çanakkale Sehitlerine
"For the Çanakkale Martyrs"
by Mehmet Akif Ersoy
loose English translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Was there ever anything like the Bosphorus war??
The earth’s mightiest armies pressing Marmara,
Forcing entry between her mountain passes
To a...

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Mehmet Akif Ersoy: Modern English Translations of Turkish Poems

Mehmet Âkif Ersoy (1873-1936) was a Turkish poet, author, writer, academic, member of parliament, and the composer of the Turkish National Anthem.



Snapshot
by Mehmet Akif Ersoy
loose English translation/interpretation...

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From all worlds and time’s eternal outer reaches,
Where the Creator is perceived to dwell.
You try to learn what your told He teaches,
Regarding Life, the Universe, Heaven and Hell.

The soul is a precious, beautiful place,
Where you...

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Baby,

You have become a fixture in my mind...
treading lightly... meaningfully...  with purpose.
with each traverse, the words and wisdom you impart
leave an indelible print..for one so..might i say youthful.


I've often wondered why my intrigue hasnt
diminished......

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In regards, to the birds and the bees
Depends on who’s watching, what he sees
There are some women, impossible to please
Wise men are wary, to be with one of these

See beneath all that glitter, her cool...

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Ah, God, the way your little finger moved 
As you thrust a bare arm backward 
And made play with your hair 
And a comb a silly gilt comb 
Ah, God—that I should suffer 
Because of...

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The Petty Posh-Wahzee - Liberation & Ostentation


The Not-So Distant Past:

The fallen fighters for freedom, are unable to turn in their graves,
their battered, fragmented bones, mixed with a handful of torn rags,
are all that remain, a...

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I sing of the afternoon of life, 
Of beaches shifting in such tiny ways;
Throes of death is what they are,
Under the light of a softly dying star,
When eyes full of wonder and hope 
Stare into...

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Who am I?
I’m sure this is a question we all ask ourselves from time to time.
What’s my purpose what reasons do I have to carry on and what is good in my life.
I find myself...

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You were born in a war ravaged state
You lost your man to the caprices of fate
You fell prey to your wayward ways
Victims of betrayal, greed or circumstances
You were drowned in the tide of darkness

Depraved incidents...

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On strange days
like these
baking cookies
is an arcane art.
 For it is winter outside
how we transform
the inside
into mystic summer.

For i know the golden ratio.
i have surrounded
myself with graduated cylinders
that recall the lore
of  cups and ounces.

Retorts...

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Lucifer
arch evil angel
Vanquisher of souls
Whither goes thou menacing spirit
throughout the earth,
to and fro
Desiring always to corrupt the innocent,
to yield to baser instincts
Urging weak vessels of faith
to destroy themselves
in so many horrible ways
Satan
arch evil angel
Thou hast...

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Saturday here on the holodeck
Jiminy Cricket dances around
to keep baser instincts in check
theoretical ethical dilemmas abound.

The holodeck is like dream time
capable of desires and fantasies
events both horrifying and sublime
played out, life across the galaxies.

An actor...

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      Obedience is worship at our core, 
respectful gratitude, 
in practiced restraint, 
armored Saint parkour.

Obedience helps you to be still 
as you are shown the way.
A north star compass by...

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Killing is killing 
But I say NO 
It takes a truly evil being To commit such blasphemy 
To steal the show.
 
Say what you will 
About U.S. complicity in this crime 
That we should exit...

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Hoc est corpus*, hocus pocus
Legerdemaine, a shift in focus
Hoc est corpus, from the Mass
Hocus pocus, parody crass
Transubstantiation phrase
Ridicule, to baser plays 
Papists, Protestants at odds
Declaring doctrines with regards
To our Lord’s communinion meal
Causing strife, divisions real
Luther...

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In Vino Veritas, But Whiskey’s Better

In wine there is certainly such real-truth to be found,
And in whiskey there is even more of it to go around!

Wine may maketh one truly sagacious, whilst whiskey
Elevates one to...

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You lash out, speaking ill of love,
hurting from your wounded feelings.
And your pain fuels the anger
that battles forgiveness for control.
Someone has hurt you;
and you want to send that hurt back.
A rebuke of love lost to...

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A whim of pleasure
Speaks to the wind,
And a sigh of murder
Cannot win.
Who’s to say one pleasure is 
      Better than another?
Pain and pleasure,
      Life’s two...

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the void absorbs 
vast array of energy orbs
viewing with non-judgmental eye
arms open in embrace, none does it decry

life giving light of the sun blesses one and all
even though but a handful few stand tall
those dwelling...

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I’m sorry, honey.
  O.K. I accept your apology.
No, wait. Hold on.
  What is it? 
I mean it. I'm really sorry.
  Are you?
Yes, I am.
  How would I know?
I’ve thought about what...

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If you fear an inappropriate tryst
In Day's, bright light will subsist
If attendance to your whims is remiss
For each foible pare one, entitled kiss
If my address too awkwardly I press
Only the passionate syllables stress
If my aimless...

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How I recall my thralldom as a man!
Base troths with idols, rituals of lust,
Hellish haven, hot blood; too late thou learn'st
Drowning desire and pleasure-profaned ban.

But sin may lead where virtue never can:
I - burning, thirsting,...

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My Lord, my only companion and guide
Please drive this gloom away from my heart 
Fill it with joy and peace never to desert 
Strength and compassion to help the hurt 
with glow of inner light...

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What reverie has changed her eyes
that she the page no longer sees?
what memories move her mind to turn
to fathom deeper mysteries
than the exciting tales she reads?
Oh, the thrilling story written--
if she the words to pen...

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