Your Love Never Left Me

Your love never left me

Your love never left me.
I hungered and thirsted
in the treacherous, dark night.
My soul was stranger, my soul was silent
my soul was shattered…
And my hands were handcuffed
I was without tobacco or sleep
but your love never left me…

Ahmet Arif

Translated by Richard McKane

YOUR LOVE NEVER LEFT ME
“Sevdan Beni,” Hasretinden Prangalar Eskittim (1992 – 32nd printing / first edition 1968). Istanbul: Cem Yayinevi, p. 5.

Ahmed Arif (1927-1991)
Studied philosophy at Ankara University. His education was interrupted by several political arrests. Published in various literary journals, his poems were widely read due to their original lyricism and imagery influenced by Anatolian folk cultures. He has published only one collection of poetry: Hasretinden Prangalar Eskittim (Fetters Worn Out by Longing/1968) – a volume which has gone through a record number of printings.