The Abbot and Abidin

By Alexander Dawe

At number 6 the و floats into م            

An abbot sitting close to Abidin                    

Tonight the rising moon is ever dim          

A dramaduna softly blows in him        

Inside the bottle dwells a saintly din      

At number 6 the و floats into م        

Now floating like a forlorn synonym    

A bond that is and what has never been    

Tonight the moon is rising ever dim    

Now hear a line that hammers out a hymn   

To a troubling sea, tripping, protean    

At number 6 the و floats into م         

And yet another trembling on a limb

Turning, thinking, (now) is this creation        

Tonight the rising moon is ever dim   

The abbot holding hands with Abidin      

Religion is a golden trial of sin                

At number 6 the و floats into م             

Tonight the rising moon is ever dim

*

Alexander Dawe has translated many contemporary Turkish novels, including Endgame by Ahmet Altan and Women Who Blow on Knots by Ece Temelkuran. In collaboration with Maureen Freely he has translated A Useless Man by Sait Faik Abasıyanık, The Time Regulation Institute by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, which received the MLA Lois Roth Award, and Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali. In 2010, he received a PEN/Heim translation Fund grant to translate the short stories of Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar. He lives and works on one of the Prince’s Islands in Istanbul.

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