Our loneliness, Cemal

Cemal abi, this raki,
drinking this raki
was like going with you

to Kars.

In your poems, Cemal abi,
it took some time to drink raki,

took time to go to Kars,

Cemal abi, after you
no poems go to Kars
Kars is short, raki rude
and awful on the tongue.
Your absence curdles poetry.
This is how alone we are.

Yalnızız Cemal Abi by Haydar Ergülen

Translated May 13, 2020

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