MESUT ŞENOL
Graduated from the Political Science Faculty of Ankara University. Earned his Master’s Degree in Public Administration and Public Relations. Served as a mayor, district governor and PR Department Head of the Prime Ministry. His 20 poetry collections were published, and many of his poetry and literary translations appeared in many national and foreign literary publications and anthologies. Attended a number of national and international poetry and literary festivals in the country and abroad, and acting as an organizer for some of them. Received numerous literary awards. He is currently sitting on the Executive Board of the Three Seas Writers and Translators Council. He is the Turkey Culture Delegate of the Liceo Poetico De Benidorm. He teaches at the Translation and Interpreting Studies Department of Yeditepe University, and Communications at the Communications Department of Bahçeşehir University. He is a member of PEN Turkey, the Turkish Writers’ Union, and the Turkish Journalists’ Association, and serves as the Culture and Arts Advisor for the FILM-SAN Foundation.
EXPLOSION OF LIGHT
The sunset of tomorrow takes its place
Out of happiness there is tears full of an ocean
Already blowing up the future
What is left from longing and parting
The sky is about to fill its basket…
The apples of the earth mother will be stashed away
All the good deeds will be counted again and again
There will be one cure for thousands of miseries
The light bouquets will be flowing from the swing
Getting out of that deep darkness…
There is some consolation for the army of lonely
As well as water bottle for tears
With being a wannabe of the torn sky
Even the shepherds’ fountains get dry
Who cares about raging hurricanes…
You were told at the very beginning and at the very moment
Swallowed bites, things getting out of a mouth
In between lines, wandering was heard
I know you very well, you have the blood phobia
When light explodes and your eyes are dazzled…
Translated by the Poet himself
I HAVE LISTENED TO YOU
As the slope of the mountain becomes blind and dwindled
And when it went beyond the horizon
As its windless top is being covered by shadows
And at such a day end
I enter the world of long-gone fairies
And all of a sudden, I fly my dream carpet
I give way to the dimming out illusions
Even though I would not wish they are forgotten
Mirages are being daggered by un-howling groan
In the deepest depth of those
For the moments when the wise gather together
As I was resisting and toiling to reach out
When I look at the silhouette on top of the hills and
As I stare at the ones behind it
While dream and reality is mixing,
I do sense that time has come even though
I do not wish it to end
I am for keeping you inside me
And ready for listening to your ballads
When the sun rises…
Translated by the Poet himself
HEALING RITUALS
It is best to describe a sacred ritual and the images of it
By entering into a dimension existing in an innocent heart
It does not amount to performing a rhythmic experiment
Visual perceptions open gateways to many frontiers
Good sequences of the words are part of a healing session
Extension of our consciousness leads us into the future
A potential lying deep in ourselves is not to be forgotten
Disillusion makes everything blurry as they seem to be
If it is gone far enough, big history reveals many ceremonies
Some ideas shake up the balance of yesteryear’s fine act
What gives our brain a boost finds its right place
Altered chemistry of our bodies and souls react
A modern age stipulates its complicated blend of uncertainty
Healing rituals produce mind opening substance
Harmonious movements show where we are heading
Raw reality puts us in an inescapable front line
We have to be ourselves; we need healing rituals…
Translated by the Poet himself
THE MORNING DEW
The Morning dew dropped on the hills of poetry
The peasant lives of nice words blessed and prolonged
The times of inexplicable remarks left behind
Heavens opened their gates to the visitors of humanity
Souls of the delicate hearts shivered for a loving story
Dining table turned over on the upper skies
Direct link to the branches of an extraordinary life
A winter symphony started playing its supernatural tunes
The morning dew fell on the heads of the couples
Having wandered in deserts and seen many mirages
They were about to cross the motherly fantastic dimensions
It seemed as if a drop of the morning dew changed the world
Translated by the Poet himself
A CRAZY WOMAN
You were nuts in the longest moment
With your pearly teeth you were biting me
Though smooth and coated passion we had
It was such a pleasantly lighted flare
I didn’t mind you were out of your mind
Stretching your imagination pushed many envelopes
Bruises on the body registered as love wounds
They did not require a special treatment
I loved your being attracted to me
Even your foot dragging in commitment
The best part of our breezy period
A crazy woman, that’s you, didn’t fail me
Translated by the Poet himself
WATCH AND AVOID
Scan my face affectively, affectionately
Use your instinct to see through me
There are sky dividers on a virtual fancy
Swing actions between day and night endure
Who is boxed in a long and boring story?
Survival is all about watch and avoid
You can get chilled to the bone
False hopes wander in no man’s land
The rejected feel extremely vulnerable
Somebody should avoid getting burned
What lies in the back of your mind?
The true objective might be arcane
To rescue the hero and the heroine
Again, the lay persons come forward
Once more to repeat the same cycle
Translated by the Poet himself
