Turkish - Greek Poem

You become aware when you feel homesick That you are brothers with the Greek; Just look at a child of Istanbul Listening to a Greek epic. We've sworn at each other In the free manner of our language. We've drawn knife on blood Yet a love lies hidden in us For days of peace like these. What if in our veins It were the same blood that flows? From the same air in our hearts A crazy wind blows. So generous like this rain And warm like the sun. The armfuls of goodness of spring That surge from within. Our hostility is like a drink Distilled from the fruit of the climate As harmful and as tasteful as any drink. From this water from this taste have we sinned. A blue magic between us And this warm sea And two peoples on its shores Equals in beauty. The golden age of the Aegean Will revive through us As with the fire of the future The hearth of the past comes alive. First a merry laughter comes to your ear Then some Turkish with a Greek accent. Nostalgic about the Bosporus And you remember the Raki*. It is when you are homesick That you recall you are brothers with the Greek. London 1947