RUHAN MAVRUK

Indefinable

Have we buried my sister, yesterday
Have a yellow flower approached the ground
Piercing her narrow vase up

Were they cutting down a tree.
Had the forest become ill.
Has she cried out for a moment
-Mom!
Has her blood splashed on the grass

Have a blue bird kept crying
in front of our door
till the morning.

The Children In The Vase

before years and years
did an old friend come up from distances
with wild flowers in her hand 

have I put them in the vase 
with my saddest hopes

 the other days have the children asked 
-why have we bloomed mommy!
-tomorrow!
have they repeated the same question in the following days

 one morning have I found them death
 leaning their hands on the shoulders of their mom 

have I left them in a wooden box 
 I called cemetery near my wounded childhood
 crying always

 welcome kids!
 never will we be giving up life

 will our hearts beat in the wild
 till the winds forget us…

Children In The War

gather little clouds on!
do we go to put out the fire
sieging all over the world

are we the kids having great hearts
when crushing the tanks, the apple trees
in Palestine, a hand is extended from Greece
for healing the wounds of the children

if a young fifteen years old
were found death at the bottom of a river
in Ağrı, would a little girl cry in Belfast
a jailer in Turkey would give
the last meal to a hungry baby in Africa

oh, my lady!
have fallen my eyes
on your hands

are you aware that!

RUHAN MAVRUK

RUHAN MAVRUK: Poet and writer (b. 9 September 1956, İstanbul). Human Right defender. She is a relative of the famous atomic scientist, İrfan Mavruk. She attended primary and elementary school in İstanbul. She graduated from the Economic and Commercial Sciences Academy, School of Journalism and Public Relations (1978). She did her graduate studies in the same field at the Institute for Social Sciences in 1991. While she was doing her doctorate studies at the Department of Social Sciences, she was removed from the university. Her professional life began as a journalist for the newspaper Milliyet as a law court correspondent in 1981. Later on, she worked as a teacher of English at private courses, a translator of medical texts at faculties of medicine and private courses and gave TOEFL and Proficiency in English lessons. Beginning in 1993, her poems and articles were published in newspapers and reviews such as Aykırı (member of editorial board), İnsancıl, İblis, Öğretmen Dünyası, Kybele, Öteki, Siz, Ütopya, Güzel Yazılar, Evrensel Kültür, Berfin Bahar, Atılım, Devrimci Demokrasi and Dayanışma. She was among the founders of the reviews Hergele and Kybele, and joined the editorial board of Gerçek Sanat Publications. She collected Mavi Dergisi First Poetry Award with her book İda Dağı Çöz Beni (Mount Ida, Untie Me). Mavruk produced and presented programs on culture and literature on some radio stations and was general broadcasting manager at Çevre Radyosu. She is a member of the Writers Syndicate of Turkey and the Literary Writers Association. WORKS: POETRY: İda Dağı Çöz Beni (Mount Ida, Untie Me, 1994), Leyladan Beri (Since Leyla, 1998), Issız Ada ve Savaş Zırhlısı (Poems, letters 2007, 2017), Toplu Eserler (whole poems), 2009) İncinmesin Kıyılarımız (we should not offend our shores, 2019).Hoşgeldin Geronimo December 2022. SHORT STORY: Fiyortlar- İnsan Atmak Serbest Çöp Atmak Yasak (Fjords – Throwing Man Free, Throwing Litter is Forbidden, 2005). ESSAY: Derinliğin Serinliği (Coolness of Depth, essays, aphorisms, 1996), Simurg Tufanı (Simurg Deluge, 2005).