Sofia

I was in Sofia it was springtime darling

fragrance of lindens

what’s there to be done

without you in the world

I wander

trees are more than walls in Sofia

trees and people

poplars especially

this one about to come in

and sit down

great city Sofia

boulevards mean nothing o rose

only poets as they’re remembered

Sofia great city

in the evening there are people

young and old women children

laughing making a noise

crowds of them

one by one and two by two

of a night in Istanbul

the same way it would be

before your time

but alas no nights now like that

were I in Istanbul

would I regret them

far from Istanbul

I regret everything

even the prison visiting-room

I was in Sofia it was springtime darling

fragrance of lindens

your people made me feel at home

your city is a kinsman’s domicile

and at that I can’t forget mine

there is no royal road to exile

Nazim Hikmet
tr. after Konuk & Blasing