Metamorphosis

Written by Yesim Agaoglu

Translated from Turkish by Nihal Yeginobali

Narrated by Bill Wolak

Turkey

i have flown on ships in the sky

swam in seas of by-gone times

lived in dark tunnels

and strolled on the backs of rats

i dressed in stark black then

blood seeped from my smiles

i made love with snakes

my nails a scorpion each

used to split razor blades

bats took off from my eyes when i gazed

a nest for owls my hair

the screech of vultures my laugh

and then, you know, i saw you

i got down from the backs of rats

it was a dolphin brought me here

i laughed and made roses for you

stars sparkled from my gaze

i took all my clothes off

the scorpions fled, the bats flew away

then suddenly what should i see

a snake was nesting in your bosom also

 

 

Poet and artist Yesim Agaoglu was born and lives in Istanbul. She graduated from Istanbul University with a B.A. from the Art History and Archeology Department. Subsequently, she also completed an M.A. in Istanbul University majoring in Radio, Television, and Cinema. Yesim has also studied for a short time at the New York School of Visual Arts. Yesim has been writing poetry since the age of five and publishing her poetry in literary magazines since the age of eighteen. She has published seven books of poetry in Turkey; in addition, book-length editions of her poetry have been translated into Azeri, Russian, and English. Her poetry also has beentranslated into many other languages as well. She is a member of PEN International. As an artist, she has had four solo exhibitions in Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Georgia, and Norway. Also, she has participated in numerous exhibitions and biennales in Turkey and around the world.

Nihal Yeginobali is one of the most esteemed translators in Turkey. Born in Manisa, Turkey, in 1927, she was educated in the American College for Girls in Istanbul, then went abroad to take her university degree in American Litera- ture at the State University of New York (SUNY). She has translated classical English novels as well as short stories into Turkish. She is also the author of a great many novels, becoming a best seller for those written under the pseud- onym “Vincent Ewing,” whose true identity she later revealed.