Ataol Behramoğlu

“There's something I have learned from what I've lived:lf 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 flowerOne 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 eradicatedWhen you hug a friend you should hug him vigorously You should fight with all your muscles, body, passionAnd once you stretch out on the hot sand You should rest like a grain of sand, a leaf, a stoneOne 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 seaDistant lands should lure you, people you do not know You should burn with 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 liveAnd 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 lifeThere 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 universeFor what we call a life span is a gift to life And life is a gift to mankind”