If there is no purity and innocence within you;
You are not a child!
Unless your adolescence was frivolous and crazy;
You are not young!
If you are not carrying forward your mother’s prayers And your father’s legacy;
You are not a son!
If you loved but did not united with your beloved;
You are not in love!
If you were married but not happy;
You are not married!
If your son does not followed your shadow,
If your daughter does not trust you;
You are not a father!
I you have longed for a lifetime with wishes;
You were not born!
If they ask, how was your life?
Say: I have never lived!
I’ve never experienced that!
I’m afraid of an ironhorse, I ride a gray horse
No hat on my head,
But I tie my hair with a handkerchief,
I know not what a mirror is,
A feather is my ornament
If I love a woman, I gift her four horses.
Mountains are my home, rivers are my friends
I hunt in the forest, smoke tobacco
I believe in prophecy and worship great spirits
The earth’s mine, the sky’s mine,
what more do I desire?
The White Man’s dream does not overtake
Valleys where my mare’s hooves tread...
Mehmet Kurtoğlu, an award winning poet and journalist from Turkey, has published numerous works covering poetry, essays and novels.
