TE16 Turkish Delight

Ten Poems by Erkut Tokman Translated from Turkish by Idil Karacadağ

Café Müller Dedicated to the memory of Pina Bausch

I.

Remember, a wandering soul Had merged into the chaos of these streets, The emotions knotted in the heart of a mortal Giddy, filtered through the memory of a butterfly Beyond the space of existence and things for The desire to return to her immortal inner dance Why were you left alone in Café Müller? You’d dedicated yourself to a deathless dance Your possessions buried into a void; All the rage, dejection, joy and torment of a city As they all detonate over you Surrounded by the soundless music of humanity You made your way towards endless infinite motion Then you overflowed into the streets one by one… Into the mysterious and magical cities of the world Into the avenues of metropolises On one side London and Paris, on the other Istanbul, Lisbon, Hong Kong You encircled our abandoned souls 117