MAYKU I

It’s the cherry month
I no more can sleep
A soft evening fills my heart
I am in love Mayku, so deep.

Water jug on her shoulder, hips sway in her hand
The Ruellia branches are in golden foliage
Of my love mountains should sing, I demand
Her skirt wave, like a martin flop its wing

Here the girls have turned into stones
Shake your hair girl, shake it and have me slain
A farewell song in her lips
I have not lost my mind in vain.

On a spring morning a soft rain
The prettiest meaning of all, you pertain
The moon has spent the night in your eyes again.

Oğuz Tansel
Translated by İlyas Halil
Kaynak Dergisi, 1 Temmuz 1953, Sayı:82.
World of Tales, Elips Kitap, 2012