this greyly patterned prayerful sky
pendulous above the shadowed trees
pleases me this morning, to be sure
it seeps life and care even while
it baleful stares soulful and sage
across this yet tumultuous land
and i muddy-headed and alone
mourn the passing of time as these
tremulous whispers wire my heart
however long the days, the years
imperious proceed, i unmanfully
remain, as every leaf, lie, star falls
without making a sound
it was not until her voice
had faded
that mine unmanfully died
whimpering
over an unspoken chorus
of arrogant
and deeply impersonal lies
composed
by an artisan of such brilliant
artifice
bıraktım nihayet bu işi
uzaktan geldim sana
sonu görünmeyen yolda
kaybolmuş bir adam gibi
vardım, boşlukla dolu
ellerimi uzattım sana
yattın birden bu hasis acınla
hakkımı helal etmeden
kuru sesimle bağırdım
bu ağır sükûtunda sana
evde olsa, sokakta da
vadii hamuşanda dururken
kara kapanmış gözlerimle
bir daha bakıyordum sana
beyaz kefene sarılmış biri var
toprak tarafından kucaklanmış
ama sen değildin
yoksa?
dünyanın ucu uzundur
öyle demedin mi bana?
neden yalan söyledin?
neden?
Lies
I have at last abandoned this affair
and come to you from afar,
like a man who has lost his way
on a path that never seems to end.
I arrived and extended to you
my hands full of emptiness.
With this vile pain, you suddenly reclined
without asking for my blessing.
In a dry voice I shouted
at you in the heavy stillness.
Whether at home or in the streets
stopping in the valley of the silent ones,
with my eyes shrouded
I looked once more at you.
There was one wrapped in a winding sheet
embraced by the earth,
but it was not you…
or was it?
Hadn’t you told me that
the end of the world is long?
Why did you lie to me?
Why?
this was never about honesty
for in the temples and councils
deception is all too alluring a desire
for these men and women
who seek dominance over us all
this was never about truth
not when lies come closest to satisfying
the endless voracious appetites
of tyrants and war mongers
who throbbing pulse for power
this was never about you and me
for the guardians who tower tottering
in our nations’ decaying capitals
do not give a damn about the people
they so slavishly so blatantly despise
and no, this was never about God
for the repugnant pastors and preachers
who so lasciviously lay hands
on the golden child of their demented dreams
have never known God themselves
it is time you stopped obeying
the deceitful deranged demagogues
it is time you stopped listening to
the pathetic pretentious preachers
it is time for you at last
to think for yourself
a magus once assured me
that promises delivered
in warmly whispered tones
bequeath a bounty quite
impossible to conceive
and the devilry of it all is
that I actually believed it
Salt Lake City 17 Nov 2012
George Ellington 