AYCAN SARAÇOĞLU

AYCAN SARAÇOĞLU

Daises Are Taletellers Too

The season was colourful

A sweet breeze

The sun coquettish

I walk into the meadows

Until my legs no longer hold me

I walk until my brain and body stop

I run into the rainbow

I stood underneath

Made a wish

For the whole of my country

I surrender my body

To the yellow lupines

Laydown length way

Full of excitement and passion

In the vast meadows

I search your eyes

In the deepest green

In fact they are indigo blue

I collected a bouquet of daisies

I started loves me loves me not

I got angry with those loves me not

I too loves those loves me

All those I chose for you

Came out loves me

Daisies are taletellers too

If you love me not

The season was colourful

A sweet breeze

The sun

Coquettish.

Fishermen

(Filiadost)

Two fishermen boats

anchored at the seashore

On one of them written Filia*

On the other Dost**

Two fishermen

One  Turkish

One Greek

Both sailed off

Into Mediterranean Sea

The pirates hold them up one day

Fighting and the thunderstorm started

The Mediterranean Sea got angry

And heave of the sea roar

And the sky collapsed

Both boats were destroyed

during the fights

The Love Island’s fishermen suffered a lot

At the fight in the middle of the seas.

Assuredly there was a future

The pirates

The thunderstorms

and the waves

Both did not gave up

They build stronger boats

The Filia and Dost sailed off again

Together

They loaded their boats

With hope and humanity

They build new and stronger boats

In tenacity against

the pirates and thunderstorms

Vira vira filia

Vira vira dostluk

They sail off into the sea together

humanity and hope was their load

Row my friend row!

*Filia (Friend in Greek)

** Dost (Friend in Turkish)

Orange Blossom

Wrapped me into memories

orange blossom

you smell homeland

smells you

Folksongs, chants and poetry

Orange blossom!

wrapped me onto thyme smell

embellish with bridal flowers

The hill-side of my mountains

Orange blossom!

Wrapped me with my soil

Where the seeds sown and

Where the labour

Has grown on the wheat spikes

Orange blossom!

Wrapped me into the freedom

Where the birds are flying

In the azure and clouds

Orange blossom!

Wrapped me into indigo blue

White-crested waves of Mediterranean

Where the peace is in labour pain

Orange blossom!

Wrapped me into hopes

Where the future

has not been expended

and passions not left unfinished

Orange blossom!

Wrapped me onto the hopes.

AYCAN SARAÇOĞLU

AYCAN SARAÇOĞLU: Aycan Saraçoğlu was born on the 22nd July 1963 of a family of five children. She is the fourth one. Aycan completed Primary Education in Episkopi village, Limassol in Cyprus. She completed her Secondary School in Lapithos, Kyrenia district after the war in 1974. She continued her higher education by attending Economic studies at the Open Economics Faculty of Anadolu University for two years. After her higher education she worked at several businesses and the Turkish Cypriot Electricity Authority. Aycan was very active in politics and worked with several political parties and movements (none - governmental organisations). She immigrated to United Kingdom with her husband and two sons in 1999. Aycan have attended several training courses in order to gain new skills and improve her chance of employability. She then took an employment to run the Road Safety Project aimed towards the Turkish Speaking communities in Haringey in London. Aycan have been the administrator of the Enfield Cypriot Association’s Mothers and Toddlers Project. She worked as a programme producer and a TV presenter with one of the local Turkish Cypriot TVs in London. Poetry is Aycan’s significant part of life. Her poems and articles have been published in several newspapers and magazines. Her elder brother Ercan Turgut who was studying in a university was shot dead on his first year in Turkey. Losing her beloved brother has increased her aspirants to lean toward poetry. Aycan started to participate in local poetry competitions in early age and receiving awards has encouraged her to write more poems. Aycans’s poems reflects her way of life and hopes. Therefore, her poetry voice friendship, struggle for freedom, peace and love. Aycan has published her own poetry book called “A Bird In My Arms” in March 2018 in Turkish & English languages. Her book was introduced to poem lovers in England and Cyprus. Currently, Aycan continues to produce and host programs on the radio and television channels operating in Cyprus, She is also the editor of the art and culture section of a newspaper.