Tell, Hemingway, for whom the bells toll now. I don’t think it’s for Madrid streets

Arslan Bayir – Baygenc Kitap, a renowned poet and writer from Turkey shares his poems  

Arslan Bayır, born in 1958, in Bayır village of Alanya, Antalya, attended primary school in his village, middle and high schools in Alanya, and university in Denizli. He obtained a bachelor’s degree of Turkish language from Anatolian university in 1999.  

Books published in Partnership: Contemporary Arts (Güncel Sanat) magazine story and poetry competition 1 to 6. Maviliklerde Sefer Etmek; Kuşun Kanadından, and Bağımsızlık Kut-u (Kazak – Turkish).

Poetry: Seed, Mountains Curveted, Sprout, Autumn Dream Hauls. Getting Wet as Raindrops, Spring Herald (In Uzbek), Life Passes – Time Passes, In Uzbek (in partnership with Aman Matcan), and Scream of the Blue.

Children Books: Sweet Faces, Child Plus (+) Flower, Tales, Tales from Grandma. Tales and Legends of Ours, Our Book, Tales from Us, Path of Alara. Tales of Taurus Nomads, From the Wing of the Bird (joint effort)

Stories: Carnivorous Stories, Two Dots and Four Days, Almonds Blossom, Morning Breeze.

Research Books: The Strength we Need Atatürk, Why do we Read So Little, Who is going to Save Turkish.

Sun song (Serbian) I’m alone without you (Uzbek)

Publications – Books of Joint Effort: Traveling in the Blue; From the Wing of the Bird, and Happiness of Independence (Kazakh – Turkish).  Numerous poems are published in Ukrainian, Kirghiz, Moldavian, Russian, German, Kazak, Uzbek, Lithuanian Persian, Bashkir, Macedonian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Polish, Uyghur, Indian, Tatar, Turkmen, Tuva, Yakut, Balkarian, Korean, Greek, Arabian, Gagauz, Mongol, English, Azerbaijani, Chuvash, Italian, Spanish, Hebrew, Chinese, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Romance, Tatar Serbian, Bangladeshi, Spanish, Portuguese and languages.

AWARDS

– In 1997, Cyprus Poetry Award in poetry competition of “Mısralık” journal, with his book called “Filiz”.

– In 2000, Jury’s Special Award in teaching themed poetry competition coordinated by “Anasam” in Kayseri

– 2001-2003 Jury’s Special Award in free branch of the poetry competition coordinated by “Simav Anadolu”

– In 2003, first places in both in Alanya ALKOD’s story and poetry competitions

– Special Award in Interview branch from Aydın Söke Sarı Zeybek journal

– In 2004, third place in Yirçe poetry competition in İzmir

– In 2004, first place in Şair Sabit İnce Poetry Competition with this book, “Çocuk Artı Çiçek”

– In 2005, Jury Special Award in Yirçe poetry competition

– In 2006, Jury Special Award in poetry competition coordinated by Sevgi Yolu journal, and Service Award to Turkish Poetry from Bursa Local Agenda 21 (“Bursa Yerel Gündem 21”)

– In 2007, second places in both essay and research branches in Sabit İnce Literature Awards

 – In 2013, third place in Kıbatek (Cypriot and Balkans Eurasia Turkish Literature Association) story competition

– In 2015, Jury Labour Award in child poetry branch in Mevlüt Kaplan Child Literature Competition

– In 2015, first place in Mustay Karim Altun Kurat article competition coordinated by Russian journalists association and Bashkir writers

– In 2020, Russia’s Golden Feather and silver medal awards

– In 2021, Russia Golden Pen award  

– Emir Temur Award of Uzbekistan Republic (2022), first place Golden Pen Award in Kyrgyzstan Republic Friendship Bridge essay competition (2022)

– The 2023 Kazakhstan Ahmet Yesevi award was given for his cultural studies and research in the Turkic world.

DO THE BELL TOLL CHİLDREN?

Tell, Hemingway

For whom the bells toll now

I don’t think it’s for Madrid streets

Siren sounds evoke

Screams of Mesopotamia

On the poems of Lorca

Blue-eyed, black-eyed and

Green otter-eyed children

Wake up during sunrise

While blue sky emits

First lights to the world

Baghdad burns in embers

Fog of a bomb

Blocks the sun

Children wants to see the sun

Time is almost over

All hopes will be plunged into darkness

They will not play skittles

On the narrow streets of Baghdad

 

Hemingway

For whom the bells will toll this time

Cold and dark fear will surround

Children’s eyes

They won’t comb their hair

Across the mirror

A crazy whistle will surround

A piece of iron will inflict wounds on their bodies

In the cruelty of life

In Bagdath or

In anywhere else

***

AUTUMN

Autumn is here

The wind is blowing warm

The leaves are laying down one by one

Upon the earth

They quietly and calmly

Meet the brown earth.

Oh, you yellow leaf,

Where do you show your soul?

If you would just give me a sign though.

***

THE TRAIN

Here is the train leaving

Then again

One more

My hopes are like wagons

They are all gone one after another.

The waiting room is full then empty again

Every time

The arriving passengers greeted the waiting ones

Yet I was not greeted

Just like my hopes.

It’s only me now

In this empty waiting room

And the waiting hours that don’t seem to run

And my lost hopes.

***

BEING FREE

In my mountains

I will be free

Where all the fake things

Are free of emotions.

As long as I’m still breathing

I will shout

In a festive mood

Everything that will happen

I will laugh at and I will get through it

I will grass in the cool waters

In the bosom of a river

Since always.

Even if they say we’re cold

I won’t mind

Because I will be free

From all these false feelings

And love.

Because I will be free

From all these false feelings

And love.

***

FIRE EYES

When you fall in love

With the sea

You can’t let it go anymore

It was all made of fire tears

Covering its face like velvet

It wanted to hide what was to be said

What should have been discussed

Just like the vanishing of a dividing cloud

Disappears in the sea of time

Otherwise, it will be difficult to live.

When you smile.

Was it too difficult for you

To compete against time?

Is a day worth a month?

There were months you were waiting for

Hopefully.

I knew your pride, but I would ask you

To keep every strand of hair.

Year turns into months, months into days

A way it would be found,

I would run with the wind

With the clouds

And I would rain over you

I would fall out of your hair

To the exhausted lands

I would kiss your seed

Just like the ground kisses it,

Exactly the same.

***

DOWNPOUR

It rains at night

All the troubles and the rains

The safety shoes on my feet

Fill the rooms with the smell of rain

The chirp sounds everywhere

The night loses its scream,

The light fingers of the darkness rain

Gently flows into the mornings

It beats the window

It rains at night

Waves of the wind

Sliding towards the villages

Spreads her hair

As water pours from tinned clouds

Willow branches bend into streams.

It washes and splits your hair

The earth absorbs water with its roots

The trees bud from the top

The light of lightning shines

Your eyes look like two lighters

That illuminates the darkness.

The sea swells and approaches the beach

It strikes the waves of the gulf

Over the beaches

The night shower

It rains cats and dogs

It takes away every thought

Just like rivers.

It becomes an ointment

For the one in need

Like the bosom of the earth

That is open to hope.

It rains at night

In the night shower

Clouds shake their heads,

The stars come down one by one

To share the joy of the earth

With those lonely friends.

***

RAIN

Look at the desire and the love

In the pink clouds

It’s raining over the distant harbors

Whereas the stars are falling at night

Drops in the eyes of the grass

They wait for the morning.

Oh, sunny mornings

Light them up

Take out the beauty that’s in your eyes

Or the night won’t get rid of

Your thirsty land

Hides inside your bosom

As it hides the seed

And even love remains silent.

***

WOMAN

From the first summer night

From the deep sleep

Outside

Dew drops

With the scent of flowers

The moon glows

Shining branches

Swaying in the wind

Ears of wheat

Like the woman’s long hair

Everything is mysterious

In the garden of your heart

The beginning of summer

In the very early hours

Touching your lips

Wet

Wine glass

Dew drops gardens

And roses…

***

NATURE

Mountains are majestic

Streams are shaded

Brilliant

Green and blue

Together

In the majestic mountains

Under the white veil

Spring flowers on branches

And the summer heat in our hearts

In the coolness of the highland

Autumn breezes

Fields laden with wheat

Grape wine

Green naphtha

Yellow tobacco chimneys

Cultivating the land

Returning to productivity

Kissing the hardworking hand

It is not far

It is within us.

___________________

Prepared by: Angela Kosta Academic, journalist, writer, poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, translator