Lingering Sorrow, My Garden of Joy

I wandered, alone, like a cloud

That floats high over the hills and valleys,

When all at once, I saw a crowd howling

They welcomed a garden of golden daffodils which bloomed

Beside the river, beneath the trees,

fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Inhale the colors,

ever-twinkling stars that always shine on my way,

contributing to my suffering.

They stretch in a never-ending line

Along the edge of a daphne.

Ten thousand times I have felt despair. At a glance,I saw what

Made me want to blow their heads with glee.

Then, needful joy unfurled within my heart.

And it danced with the daffodils. 

Betül TAĞMAN

My day started  with the smell of narcissus,

How I missed, how I longed for,

Aggrieved but proud branches standing,unbending,

resisting all the rain and storms. 

The gale of life is like the Myrtle tree, 

Her head is inclined, towards herself, only bending her head in quiet shame at her weakness

I took my hat off;

 I was embarrassed and humbled by so much envy.

 How much I had to learn!

She bestowed upon me her smell and taste of daffodils,

without expecting anything,

whereas,

they called her  in love with herself

like an arrogant elitist. 

The scent of daffodils in my palms, hitting my essence.

I looked into the eyes of life by opening my heart. 

At my core ,Am I not as precious as a narcissus?

I, inevitably, buried this odor deep within my verses. 

Betül TAĞMAN

I sought answers, questioning the echoes within me,

Expecting to hear the story- story of disappointment.

The echo of pain filled my ears, making joy impossible to hear.

Close your eyes,said the narcissus- which you dedicated to our love

In the past springs.

Like a flower in bloom, I blossomed with hope.

“Look—those colorful dreams are nothing but illusions,

 just your reflection in the water.”

Our canvas, once painted with pure love, now holds fading dreams.

At least,  I believe that promised future.

The voices I heard, no one heard.

The fairy of love whispered,

‘’you buried your hope and threw it to the water,

As water flows, your desires will return.”

Yet, it was the love, not the sounds from nowhere.

Gave me a narcissus and vanished.

Like its flowers, which faded suddenly, was an instant poison.

Am I the narcissus who falls in love with a dream?

There will be efflorescence, where I left my life,

a jonquil does not wither- it will endure.

Betül TAĞMAN