A Plain Loneliness Would Have Been Enough

Egemen BERKÖZ

A PLAIN LONELINESS WOULD HAVE BEEN ENOUGH

A plain checkered notebook would have been enough
to tell about the Samatya train station
while waiting for the evening to arrive
while waiting for shattered hopes
as the station in the just fallen rain distributes its sorrow
even to those looking from a distance
to those going by the seaside road
and to the passengers, who are the very essence of sorrow,
something of a poet towards the evening,
the station master looks with understanding
smiling slightly
and doesn't even care
and suddenly the day is over
he doesn't care
the day goes by with trains, passengers, cargo
with tickets and passes the day goes by
and Egemen Berköz goes home

His heart heavy with sorrow
towards the evening he's seen along the way
houses with interiors in shambles
one day he has seen the tits of a woman laying out the laundry
another day he has seen a man in his undershirt and underpants eating
pilav early in the morning
one day he has seen children, dirty and cheeky
one day every day he has seen people tickets station clerks
and one day Egemen Berköz goes home

His stomach upset in the morning,
the green beans at lunch stringy,
he has played a game of chess
he has written two pieces of advertising copy
he has read a few pages from Pavese
he has looked at a few pictures of naked women
a few tree branches in the window
and a few fourteen or fifteen stories away
curtains have kept flying in the wind
then thinking of his cactuses
of Ben Shahn's and America's people
of Töbder's and Türkiye's people
then with a small Yeni in his bag
then a small melon in his hand
then something stirring in his chest
Egemen Berköz goes home

Getting off the train,
going out of the train station,
with a glance at the mackerels,
he climbs up the Mütesellim hill,
he climbs up the stairs of the Ünal apartment
thinking all the way to the fifth floor, to the door of number sixteen
thinking even a plain checkered notebook would have been enough

even a plain checkered notebok.

Translated by Tanses Gülsoy