A LATE REQUIEM

When I look at you,
At your eyes that shine like newly-cleaned
Windowpanes,
Your poise lean and crisp
Almost rising above ground

Your unshattered fresh belief
in a colourful reliéf
echoing your preference in technicolor,
I think of my brother,
A life sliced too thin for his loaf,
Leaving behind too many unposed questions
His poise tall and lean
Always watching the clouds above

-cut to tall sweet grass thinly disguising the headwound-

When I think of him
A lazy student who “can but won’t” do,

I feel he was right
In making merry in the short time he had,
As if he from inside, in unconscious submission
Knew his fate of multiple doom.

So I look back at you,
Your efforts so sincere
Being naive as they are,
Nonetheless they
somehow assure me
of a long life ahead.
the possibility of death being
a sculpture you never liked
but never left behind...

The Revolution will not...

There's a war going on in our country. Bodybags have begun to accumulate once again. I have financed this war for more than 10, my father, more than 20 years with the huge amounts cut from our paychecks in taxes. We've bought better weapons, planes, trains, tanks and the like. We watched our income be siphoned out at the tax ratio of a Scandinavian social welfare state, yet my daughter does not and will not have free health or education services. We've all financed so-called reform work for the last 25 years (GAP) in the region, and still we watch the same words from similar leaders' mouth coming out, as if they were ruminating discourse from years ago and just vomit it out when necessary. The worst is that the same discourse is gratuitously used by actual citizens, who take some sort of sadistic pleasure out of war. I try to sympathize with them but when I hear the charcoal-black slab of sentences that come out, I only get disgusted. A disgust that arouses pity, though with no intention to help or even converse. There's a sacrificial frenzy at the moment; metaphors of blood are on each corner. Yet we are fed the crimson flag hoisted up high, as if there still are clear-cut sides to this war
Never mind the revolution not being televised or serialized, the revolution, or any revolution will not happen until each citizen of a nation really has the means (finances? leisure? luxury?) to decide for themselves. WHO IS SPEAKING WHEN YOU OPEN YOUR MOUTH TO HATRED? TO WARMONGERING? TO BIAS? TO FUNDAMENTALISM OF ALL KIND? AND WHY DO YOU LET YOUR MOUTH RUN OFF? DOESN'T ANYONE THINK ABOUT THEIR SPEECH?
One reason is it's easier, and probably is less likely to give an ulcer. I know that but that is all I know...
One contrarian of all people in Turkey, a transsexual singer, just declared that if she were to have a son, that she would do everything to not have him go off to the war. An honest statement that probably comes out of mothers all over, daily. But Presto! The lynching process began. Now she will be sent to court. This is a typical case for Turkey. Our hundreds of columnists don't get into trouble (because most are for the war, and probably those who are against have far too many court cases to have the courage to handle yet another one.). Another singer (a woman ifyoucanbelieveit-I've long lost faith in a matriarchal world, these women have bigger balls than me) stood up, spouted the usual slogans handed by our leaders and added that if her son needed to die, so be it... HOW CAN YOU SAY THIS AND LOOK YOUR SON IN THE EYE WITH LOVE ,WOMAN? Necessity, self-defense etc. is one thing, volunteering to die is another. I mean in today's world, can anyone name a sacred cause for war? independence? wtf does that mean when the stock market carshes in the states we all lose? nationhood? what does that mean? unity? define please. Resources? How much of it will trickle into your paycheck do you think? Love of your country? Would you ask your girl/boyfriend to shoot herself for your love?
Sorry but my stomach is turning over, I have to go throw up.

We live in such a sick world that the ones who are the best adapted to it, who glide among the classes untouched, unscathed, and who continue to pursue the good life without noticing that it is to the expense of millions of people, are the most vicious psychopaths. If you're somewhat deranged, mentally unstable, and generally depressed due to the nastiness you see, cherish it, you're still human.

Freak-folk ya da Sürrealist Amerikan Köylüleri

Amerika'da yeni peydah olduğu söylenen bir akım var: Freak-folk. Benim açımdan gitarın dinlenebilecek bir sertlikte seyretmesi ve idie rock müziğe beni geri döndürebilmesi kıstas oldu bu yeni akımla ilgilenmeme. Bazı temsilcileri şöyle: Calexico (Texas), Iron & Wine (South Carolina), CocoRosie (NY), Songs: Ohia (Ohio). Enstrümanların dizilişi ve kullanılışı amerikan folk müzisyenleriyle (Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon vs.) aynı ama "freak" diye tabir edilmelerini sağlayan, duruşları ve sözleri. Hoş ABD de freak tabir edilmek hem çok kolay hem çok zor. Georgia'da "freak" olmak kolaydır da NY'de mesela "freak" olabilmek CocoRosie'nin acaip şairaneliği ve cinsel yönelim/deneyim + sahne şovu vs. gibi ek gayretler gerektirir. Ancak bu gruplar arasında ortak nokta aranacaksa, tekinsiz bir içedönüklük ve sürrealizme varan tuhaflıkta sözler, temalar bulunabilir. Herhalükarda Bob Dylanların barış, sevgi, gelenek vs. gibi kaygılarından pek fazlasının olduğu söylenemez. Daha çok gotik münzeviler gibi takılıyorlar sanki. Neyse bana gitar dinletiyorlar ya...

SOMETIMES AN ASS IS JUST AN ASS!

One of the things I really like about Turkey, is the understanding among the people that strained kindness is unnecessary. By strained kindness, I have in mind especially the myriad times I heard 'thank you' and 'excuse me' in the US and especially, because of its wider implications, the idea of political correctness. Daily discourse in the US is so widely regulated that one speaks in fear of causing offense, especially when identity politics are at stake. I can see the reasons for defining your identity, however, once the identity is socially accepted as a fact, the ongoing usage of a particular term actually turns onto itself and enables more pigeonholing than integration. Politics that were out for integration become separatist themselves. Bestowing so much meaning & importance on a word, I think has limiting consequences. Words should belong to us, not us to them; in the end we created them. Limiting your infinite being to some inadequate consensual description seems to me to be not only a waste of time and friendship but also is damaging to society as a whole where the once liberating differences become rigid categories and thus are used to usurp discursive power over other 'difference-bearers'.
In this sense, we all know that politicians use language in a vacuous way, where meaning sometimes can be disguised to the extent that what ends up coming out is a waste of concentration. I recall the speeches by Bush and Cheney, especially the one where Cheney speaks on account of WMD in Iraq (We know what we didn't know and so on). Somehow we take this for granted. We may laugh but in fact we just stomach it silently, chasing it to the realm of politics, which we should all take part in but since we're civilized, we make do with voting.
Coming back to Turkey, the recent discourse our PM is using is criticized to death as rude, crude and full of fury. I agree totally however, there is something to be said about revealing your true nature through words, without thinking of etiquette. From a larger perspective, it seems to me that Erdoğan frequently has in mind the expression I put in the title. That sometimes, an ass should be called an ass, and not a behind or buttocks etc. And since we all possess one, what in god's name difference does it make when you call it in a more polite way? You're talking about an 'impolite' body part in the first place!
In the same vein, I find Erdoğan's blasting ghetto-mouth as a funny twist in Turkish politics. As much as he is showing his true colors (hideous to you and I, they may be, but that is not the issue), he also is bringing the level of discourse 'down' therefore is setting an example to potential politicians who may break this uniformity that world politics have. How many of you really believe there is a person underneath those black suits and ties? Only socialists and communists break this taboo of dressing and most of us dismiss them as being unrealistic and such. However the buzz word difference can only really be in vogue if we actually see the true colors of our politicians and recognize their differences, albeit it may be from physical appearance at first.
Calling an ass an ass in full comfort and liberty, without causing offense is the point where humans interact with humans directly, without the intervention of power politics. I remember feeling elated when I was able to call my black (African) friends niggers and laugh about it together. They called me 'white-ass' back, which is- in skin color- true and there's nothing I can do about it. I was later promoted to a 'wigga' (white-nigger) which made me even more happy, but hey, I'm not going to go around telling black folk that 'I understand your struggle' (like many white folk do, in a patronizing manner I believe) and such, because I truly can't; my experience in life is different. But I can sympathize and try to understand, as long as I am provided with an entrance to their discourse. Barring me from using your words, is not going to make me appreciate you. Letting me use them provides a lesson in tolerance
Also, like a great friend of mine said once, 'küfür ruhun yelpazesidir' : 'Cursing is a fan for the soul'
So yes, words carry power, yes we have to think twice before saying anything, but sometimes an ass really is an ass, and nothing more.

"Doğaya Dönüş" hadisesi...

Hepimiz artık şu küresel ısınma mevzuundan yeterince haberdarızdır. Garip olan bir anda Al Gore'la başlayan, tüm zengin sınıfları ve anamal sahiplerini etkisi altına alan "haydi bu düzeni durduralım" vari çırpınışların ortaya çıkması. Kesin bir iş var burada diyordum ki bir anda Le Monde Diplomatique'ın Şubat sayısında bir makale yardımıma yetişti. Mevzu Fransa'da ki kayak merkezlerinin küresel ısınma sonucu karsız kalması, sonra da mevcut müşterinin daha ucuz olan Avusturya veya Bulgaristan'da ki kayak merkezlerine kayması.Görünen o ki, küresel ısınmadan yakınan zengin kesimin derdi başka: yani her zamanki gibi, kar marjı! Aman boş kalmasın merkezler, aman zenginler başka yere gitmesin kayağa!
Küresel Isınmadan nemalanan -dolaylı ve söylemsel yoldan- bir başka kesim daha var dünyada, o da Renaud'nun deyimiyle BoBo'lar, yani "Bohem Burjuvalar". Bizde neye tekabül ediyorlar derseniz, herhalde en yakını "cihangir cumhuriyeti" denilen oluşum. Dertleri nedir ve nasıl dile getirilir?
1. "Abi bıktım ben bu pistanbul'dan, şöyle alacaksın bir arsa güneyden, çek kayığını da oooh!"
2. "Şehir hayatı kasıyor abi, doğadan koptukça insanlıktan çıktık, hadi geri gidek!"
3. "Şehir hayatı doğal değil, kır hayatı doğal!"

Bu süregiden doğaya dönüş muhabbeti bana acaip ikiyüzlü geliyor. Neden?
1. Şehri pisleten senden gayrı tipler değil ki! Hepimiz bir olup pisletiyoruz. İnsan çöp ve dışkı üreten varlıktır. Bunu değiştirmeye çalışmadan ister fizan'a kaç, pislik seni bulur. Daha biz "geri dönüşüm" ün ne olduğunu yeni anlıyoruz yahu!
2. Şehirle kır arasındaki kurulan bu "doğa" anlayışındaki zıtlığın kökleri 18. yy Romantiklerinden çıkma doğa tasvirlerine gidiyor. Yani bu romantize edilmiş, şairane bir duyarlığın göstergesi sayılan doğa sevgisi, gerçek anlamda doğayı değil, insanın kendi yüceltmesi (süblimasyon) sonucu oluşturduğu bir figüre gönderme yapıyor. Bir düşünün doğa dediğinizde pastoral manzaralar, saçlarda uçuşan doğalına dönmüş saçlar ve serbestçe koşturan bin türlü hayvanat geliyor mu, gelmiyor mu? Peki bu mudur doğa denilen ya da gidilecek olan?
3. Yine aynı zıtlığı bir de şöyle açalım: Şehirde tükettiğiniz elektrik, su, doğal gaz, kırda da tükenmeyecek mi? Tüketilecek, üstüne üstlük belki de daha fazlası tüketilecek, zira şehirde yaratılmış düzeni doğaya uydurmaya çalışırken (zira kabul edelim, pek azımız hakkıyla bir Manisa Tarzanı olarak yaşayabiliriz) şehirde tükettiğimizden daha da fazla benzin ve elektrik tüketeceğiz. Misal bir süpermarkete şehirde yürüyerek ulaşıyoruz, halbuki kırsalda mesafeler daha uzun, dolayısıyla araba daha da önem kazanıyor. Bir de şehirdeyken taksitle aldığınız plazma tv yi almayacak mısınız yanınıza? Alacaksınız tabii, hem de bilgisayar, playstation vd elektronik malzemeyle...
Sonra ne oldu? hadi döndük doğaya... Bir de ıslık çal koyunlara da tam olsun!