Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Gonca Özmen

CONFESSION

Don’t tell a soul that we haven’t read Derrida
That on the tips of our minds a shoe suddenly springs
That lovemaking ceases on the tips of our bodies
And that meaning forever shuffles over there, just over there
Don’t tell a soul how I changed you for a shirt 

Don’t tell a soul of the soil we ate as children
Or how we turned into someone else, slept in a grave
Or how callow we were staring at the tree
For why would an ashen faced father forever slip into dreams
Don’t tell a soul, to each daughter the father is the missing threshold. 

Don’t tell a soul that in you first I saw:
Just how a ferryboat grows old
The trigger that sets off morning
Our three persons burnt as we kissed
In the milk boiling over on the stove

Still don’t tell a soul of all that came before
Or nothingness will wake to steal you from my side

BEKENTENIS

Vertel niemand dat we Derrida niet lazen
Dat aan de rand van ons brein plotseling een schoen ontstond
Dat vrijen ophield aan de rand van ons lijf
Dat betekenis altijd veel verder voerde
Vertel niemand hoe ik jou oprakelde met een hemd 

Vertel niemand dat we als kinderen aarde aten
Dat we een ander werden en in een graf sliepen
Hoe onschuldig we waren toen we naar een boom keken
Waarom we altijd dromen over een vader met een asgrauw gezicht
Vertel niemand dat vaders voor dochters een afwezig obstakel zijn

Vertel niemand wat ik als eerste in jou zag
Hoe een veerboot in verval raakte
Een hendel de ochtend op gang bracht
En hoe we later met z’n drieën als we elkaar kusten
Zo verhit raakten als overkokende melk op de kachel 

Vertel in elk geval niemand over alles wat voorafging
Anders ontwaakt het niets en haalt het jou bij mij vandaan

İTİRAF

Kimselere söyleme Derrida okumadığımızı
Aklımızın ucunda birden bir ayakkabı başladığını
Bir sevişmenin bittiğini gövdemizin ucunda
Anlamın hep ötelere ötelere gittiğini
Seni bir gömlekle nasıl deştiğimi kimselere söyleme

Kimselere söyleme çocukken yediğimiz toprağı
Bir başkası olup uyuduğumuzu bir mezarda
Ne kadar acemi olduğumuzu bir ağaca bakarken
Kül yüzlü bir baba niye girerse hep rüya
Kimselere söyleme babalar eksik eşiktir kızlara 

Kimselere söyleme sende gördüydüm ilk
Bir vapurun nasıl eskidiğini
Bir sabaha başlamanın tetiğini
Sonra sonra üç kişiliğimizi öpüşürken
Ocakta taşan sütte yanar gibi 

Yine de kimselere söyleme öncesini
Uyanır da alır yanımdan yokluk seni

Close

CONFESSION

Don’t tell a soul that we haven’t read Derrida
That on the tips of our minds a shoe suddenly springs
That lovemaking ceases on the tips of our bodies
And that meaning forever shuffles over there, just over there
Don’t tell a soul how I changed you for a shirt 

Don’t tell a soul of the soil we ate as children
Or how we turned into someone else, slept in a grave
Or how callow we were staring at the tree
For why would an ashen faced father forever slip into dreams
Don’t tell a soul, to each daughter the father is the missing threshold. 

Don’t tell a soul that in you first I saw:
Just how a ferryboat grows old
The trigger that sets off morning
Our three persons burnt as we kissed
In the milk boiling over on the stove

Still don’t tell a soul of all that came before
Or nothingness will wake to steal you from my side

CONFESSION

Don’t tell a soul that we haven’t read Derrida
That on the tips of our minds a shoe suddenly springs
That lovemaking ceases on the tips of our bodies
And that meaning forever shuffles over there, just over there
Don’t tell a soul how I changed you for a shirt 

Don’t tell a soul of the soil we ate as children
Or how we turned into someone else, slept in a grave
Or how callow we were staring at the tree
For why would an ashen faced father forever slip into dreams
Don’t tell a soul, to each daughter the father is the missing threshold. 

Don’t tell a soul that in you first I saw:
Just how a ferryboat grows old
The trigger that sets off morning
Our three persons burnt as we kissed
In the milk boiling over on the stove

Still don’t tell a soul of all that came before
Or nothingness will wake to steal you from my side

Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
Lira fonds
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère