HILAL KARAHAN

HILAL KARAHAN

MIDDLE EAST  

1

It lulls the history on its feet since it gave birth to it, it combs louse from its hair with human ribs

2

Skirts of the cities are scattered by desert winds over stone courtyards, mosques, ancient squares, vaulted streets which always lead to one another  Smell of ground coffee, spice and gunpowder roasts on same coals  : Sands cover the blood, but cannot wash…

3

Names of God written to the desert are savagery, ignorance: children are born and die famine is their destiny, diarrhea is their fate  : Grudge does not make a wish…

4

In the desert night cold, belief and family consensus warm up backing in one another  : Even if they are killed, Bedouin felt  does not penetrate blood ...

5

The women are bought and sold in exchange for camel they are circumcised from life:   Their faces are tattooed to men, hearts are harvester…

WIDOW    

                                                 

On 13 May 2014, 301 women in Soma, 

a mining town of Turkey, were widowed… 

1

Between fears and odors  death walked with patience without touching the stones  of the evening  Empty handed grief turned back home the light has gone out of its eyes the mouth of village scented malice  Doors shut dispersed the doomsday in four walled houses women and children  Human, a snake swallowing its tail end blunt adze sharpening itself timid at street, hero at home

2

Tell me, how many deaths  can a country stand up to?  Into what a civilization turns by passing through the sieve of pain?  Earth and sky are in blood with all this pain how can a human  can still be a human?  Getting used to, that black hole, within which life becomes dull permanent insanity  Getting used to, that damn frailty, meaning of pain can’t be measured at doomsday  when time shakes the tablecloth  ― “Death is the destiny of minig job”2

3

It’s raining outside Fire dying inside

2 Words of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the president of Turkey

TERMINATION

 1

It was cold, her legs trembled  when touching  nude to the irons

2

It was dark, feeble light of lamp  was shining only  on tools’ steel

3

It was silent, favor of tongue was lost lips were dry,  fountains waterless  Where are promises,  when turned to coal those diamond hours  She was such afraid  of heart beat that  her soul was behind mettle

4

Let her speak, say, stop!  It is my body, my part spirit attending my womb how can I let it to frosty?   Let it say,  why did you give up my dream, flowers you draw in my shadow, saloons you fill up with my news? which God’s altar is your womb you offer me? how you passed quickly how how easy! I nurse you with my blood,  oh, the son of light which treasure can fill the blank in uterus  When the heart is uprooted what is the loss of life  spilled from womb?   Let her say it is my body, my part take off your hand from our spirit

5

She was waiting, soon her mind would fade out,  the steps of thoughts dancing in her brain  would not be heard   Cage of probabilities would open with speculum, tenaculum and plastic canule a new life possibility would go to trash  Can she have the power to turn off its light?  Can the blind future go on without its presence?

6

Room is dark, her spirit is on the table, sterile tools shine only in feeble light

HILAL KARAHAN

HILAL KARAHAN: Turkish poetess, writer, translator, mother and medical doctor (1977, Gaziantep/Turkey). Her professional poems, stories, interviews, articles about poetry have been published in various national and international poetry-culture-literature magazines since 2000. She has joined to many collective books, bilingual poetry almanacs and found in organisation comittee of international poetry festivals. Her poems and selected poetry books were translated into many languages. She is recently a member of Turkey PEN, Turkish ambassodor of World Institute of Peace (WIP) and turkey director of  Writers Capital Foundation (WCP) and World Festival of Poetry (WFP network sites. She organises Feminİstanbul Poetry Festival every year. Since 2017, she is a member of publishing council of international bilingual poetry magazines of  Absent and Rosetta Word Literatura.