Poem of the Day: from "Letter to My Wife"

This poem is about longing. The poet, Nizet Hizam (1902-1963), was an outspoken communist and often found himself in conflict with the authorities--often in prison for his political activities. He spent more than half his life either in prison or in exile.

Living alone in Turkey hasn't been too hard. I read all I want. I write. I know that there will always be a longing for home, whether I'm 60 or 6,000 miles away. The cool thing about love, is that it knows no distance, and I can feel just as cared for by loved ones here as anywhere.

One final note: as I was leaving and reducing the number of things to pack, I found dozens of "unfinished songs," which I scanned and saved to my Google Drive for later (image above: Turkish man with a saz, source: Fethiye Times)

If I have the experience here that I hope, I will return with many more.

I,
in the darkness of my last morning,
will envision my friends and you,
and alone
take with me the grief
of an unfinished song
to the soil...

Ben,
alaca karanlığında son sabahımın
dostlarımı ve seni göreceğim,
ve yalnız
yarı kalmış bir şarkının acısını
toprağa götüreceğim...

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