Why We March
By Deniz Keleş
As we march to the south a lieutenant confronts us,
An army approaches from the east reports the lieutenant,
Out of breath and deeply scared,
He speaks softly and exclaimed,
More than ten thousand men he says,
Horses and archers and elephants too claims he,
Begging us to turn away.
We march, disregarding lieutenant’s protest.
He once more announces, the enemy’s might,
But we march on, nonetheless,
Shields and spears tightened in our hands.
Thus, we march, for we are bold,
And we march, for we are told.
Thousands will clash like a dark lighting
Soldiers who know well, the art of dying,
And when the need which will very soon call
We will fall in gore once and for all.
We seek nothing but our cold beds,
We know no one and no one knows us,
And yet speaks of us many crowds.
Kings and lords, peasants and slaves,
They all know a soldier’s place,
So, they speak and the word spreads.
Speaks again the lieutenant, in rage and rebuke,
He thinks us fools for we march,
And we march on, nonetheless
For we are wise to know
No other road awaits.
*
Deniz Keleş, originally from Izmir, is currently a student in the English Language and Literature department at Istanbul University.