There’s something I have learned from what I’ve lived:

There’s something I have learned from what I’ve lived,
If you’re to live something, live it to its fullest
Your beloved should fall exhausted from your kisses
You should fall exhausted from smelling a flower

One can watch the sky for hours
Can for hours watch the sea, a bird, a child
To live on earth is to mingle with it
Growing roots that cannot be eradicated

When you hug a friend you should hug him vigorously
You should fight with all your muscles, body, passion
And once you stretch out on the hot sand
You should rest like a grain of sand, a leaf, a stone

One should listen to all the beautiful music on earth
So as to fill all his being with sounds and songs
One should dive into life as if
Diving from a rock into an emerald sea

Distant lands should lure you, people you do not know
You should burn with the desire to read all the books, to know
all the lives
You should not exchange for anything the pleasure of drinking
a glass of water
All the joys should fill you with the yearning to live

And you should live grief also, with honor, with all your being
For grief also, like joy, matures a person
Your blood should mingle with the great circulation of life
In your veins must circulate the eternal fresh blood of life

There is something I have learned from what I’ve lived:
If you’re to live, live big, as if you are mingling with the rivers,
the sky, the whole universe
For what we call a life span is a gift to life
And life is a gift to mankind
Author: Ataol Behramoglu Translator: Suat Karantay
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Yasadiklarimdan ogrendigim bir sey var:
Yasadin mi, yogunluguna yasayacaksin bir seyi
Sevgilin bitkin kalmali opulmekten
Sen bitkin dusmelisin koklamaktan bir cicegi

Insan saatlerce bakabilir gokyuzune
Denize saatlerce bakabilir, bir kusa, bir cocuga
Yasamak yeryuzunde, onunla karismaktir
Kopmaz kokler salmaktir oraya
Kucakladin mi simsiki kucaklayacaksin arkadasini
Kavgaya tum kaslarinla, govdenle, tutkunla gireceksin
Ve uzandin mi bir kez simsicak kumlara
Bir kum tanesi gibi, bir yaprak gibi, bir tas gibi dinleneceksin

Insan butun guzel muzikleri dinlemeli alabildigine
Hem de tum benligi seslerle, ezgilerle dolarcasina
Insan baliklama dalmali icine hayatin
Bir kayadan zumrut bir denize dalarcasina
Uzak ulkeler cekmeli seni, tanimadigin insanlar
Butun kitaplari okumak, butun hayatlari tanimak arzusuyla yanmalisin
Degismemelisin hic bir seyle bir bardak su icmenin mutlulugunu
Fakat ne kadar sevinc varsa yasamak ozlemiyle dolmalisin
Ve kederi de yasamalisin, namusluca, butun benliginle
Cunku acilar da, sevincler gibi olgunlastirir insani
Kanin karismali hayatin buyuk dolasimina
Dolasmali damarlarinda hayatin sonsuz taze kani

Yasadiklarimdan ogrendigim bir sey var:
Yasadin mi buyuk yasayacaksin, irmaklara, goge, butun evrene karisircasina
Cunku omur dedigimiz sey, hayata sunulmus bir armagandir
Ve hayat, sunulmus bir armagandir insana

Ataol Behramoglu