ROAD 1

This is the pavement of sun and rain
Speed son, without letting the boss know
Lest they’ll let you grasp fire for gold
Forget not to add coolant to the engine.

The plain expanded under early heat
At midday in July, the sky has lost color.
So scared is the earth of engine’s roar
Cyclones of dust rise in pillars.

Gone is the vigor that started in spring
Down pours fire and how, from a molten sky
Faces scorched, yellower than the harvest
The engine was breathing like a worn-out giant.

Oğuz Tansel
Translated by Ülkün Tansel