Come Before the Monsoon, Come After the Monsoon…

It rains too much, my beauty, it rains too much,
You had got wet too many times in India, in Vietnam,
In your cheerful childhood…
Let me remind you nevertheless, this is monsoon;
It rains too much, my beauty, it rains too much…

Thus it would be better if you come before the monsoon,
These monsoons never end up, you know;
Don’t make me wait along the monsoon…
Each drop corresponds to a year, too long a period…

There are flowers on the ao day you wear,
The villagers of my country like to wear them too…
That’s why, when I look at you, when I smell your flowers,
I feel the smell of my country through my nose…
Come before the monsoon, so that the flowers on your ao day won’t be flooded…

The gentleness of your fingers comes from Vietnam,
The finery of your teeth is from India…
The warmness of this smile comes from Vietnam,
And of course your anklets are from India…
Why do I decompose your being as a Vietnamese, your being as an Indian?
You are the map composed of two countries which are not neighbours;
It is not in vain that the flowers on your ao day are blooming,
They are blooming on the map…
Come before the monsoon, I can water them…

Musondan Önce Gel, Musondan Sonra Gel… (*)

Çok yaðar güzelim çok yaðar,
Çok ýslanmýþlýðýn vardýr Hindistan’da, Vietnam’da,
Uçarý çocukluðunda…
Yine de anýmsatayým, musondur bu;
Çok yaðar güzelim çok yaðar…

Sen en iyisi gel musondan önce,
Bu musonlar bir de dinmez, bilirsin;
Bekletme beni muson boyunca…
Her damlaya bir yýl, çok uzun ara…

Giydiðin aoyayýn üstündeki çiçekleri,
Anadolu köylüsü de giyer üstüne...
Bundandýr bakýnca sana, koklayýnca çiçeklerini,
Bir güzel Anadolu geliyor burnuma...
Musondan önce gel, sel almasýn çiçekleri...

A New Meeting with The (Not ‘A’) Vietnamese Journalist

Through the years passed by,
- Oh look, only 3 weeks passed indeed-
Iraq got the Asian Cup.
It’s so magnificient an event that
Even I’ve heard of it.
Me who has no enthusiasm for football nor curiosity...

On our last meeting,
A match was taking place between Viet Nam and Iraq.
I was supporting Iraq and you, Viet Nam... 
And I was telling you:
“What a coincidence it is
Two countries who fought against USA
Are on the same playing field, challenging each other;
But of course after a few years,
USA will not leave any country on the world unoccupied
And thus it won’t be coincidence
When two countries fought against USA
Would challenge each other on the same playing field...

And I am sorry,
If we would have been in 60’s or 70’s,
Of course I would have supported Viet Nam...
Now I support Iraq,
Now I support Venezuela...

Talk with me about trivials, ‘et cetera’s,
Especially ‘et cetera’s...
Life has taught me the following:
The most important events
Are told by trivializing,
By mentioning them as ‘et cetera’s.

O Vietnamlý Gazeteciyle Yeniden Görüþme

Aradan geçen yýllarda,
-Ah, bak, 3 hafta geçmiþ aslýnda alt tarafý-
Irak, Asya Kupasý’ný aldý.
Öyle büyük bir olay ki,
Ben bile duydum bunu.
Ben ki ne bir heyecaný var futbola dair ne meraký...

Son görüþmemizde,
Maç vardý Vietnam’la Irak arasýnda.
Ben Irak’ý tutuyordum, sen Vietnam’ý...
Ve sana “bu, ne rastlantý,
Amerika’yla dövüþen iki ülke,
karþý karþýya ayný sahada”
Diyordum;
Ama elbette yýllar sonra,
Ýþgal edecek ülke býrakmayacaðýna göre Amerika,
Bir rastlantý olmaktan çýkacak,
Amerika’yla dövüþen iki ülkenin
Bir maçta karþýlaþmasý…

Ve üzgünüm,
60’lý, 70’li yýllarda olsaydýk,
Elbette Vietnam’ý tutardým...
Þimdi Irak’ý tutuyorum,
Þimdi Venezuela’yý...

Bana ‘falan filan’lardan söz et,
Özellikle ‘falan filan’lardan...
Yaþam bana þunu öðretti:
Falanfilanlaþtýrýlarak anlatýlýr her zaman,
En önemli olaylar...

Buðusuzluk Özlemi

Zordur bazen tanýmasý kendini,
Kendine buðulu aynada bakýyorsundur sanki.
Evet, bu sensin, algýlayamasan da ayrýntýlarý...
“Bu sensin!” der ayna üstündeki ýþýk oyunlarý...

“Yaklaþayým” dersin “kendime, daha fazla”
Ve öyle yaklaþýrsýn ki,
Kanlanýr gözlerin bu uðurda.
Yine de buðuludur ayna,
Buðulu, buðulu...

Deðdirirsin elini aynaya,
Son vermek istersin buðunun saltanatýna;
Silersin, rahatlamýþsýndýr,
Ýlk kez bu kadar net görürsün kendini...
Ama ne olur? Ayna, bir süre sonra,
Buðuyla kaplar kendini bir daha,
Senin kendi(’)n(’)i ve demek ki kendisini...