A Christmas Card to My Neighbor

do you see me?
do you really want to to see me?
we are your neighbors.
we are your friends.
mates, brothers, colleagues.
we are the ones who is cleaning your streets, working on your banks,
repairing your stuffs, remodeling your house, changing your faucets,
cutting your hairs, driving your cabs.
we are the ones who is working behind big walls.

we do not want your jobs,
we are working at which you do not wanna work.
we do not want your homes
we do not want your air and water
we do not want your cars
we only want to live.
we only want to live.
we only want to live.
in peace.

we did not choose our colors,
we did not choose our religion,
we did not choose our language,
we did not choose our culture,
we did not choose our loneliness.
what your assumption is not what we are.

do you think, it is easy to being far away your home, your country, your culture.
do you really think, it is easy to be outside of your culture.
do you really know anything about me?
i am trying to learn your language, did you ever try to learn one word of my language,
only one word, for example to say hello.
did you ever try to learn my culture?
did you ever try to celebrate my holidays?
yes you love our authentic flavors; but did u even try to learn who is at the kitchen?

we are both together good.
we are both richness of the world.
with you buddy, bro, dude; not without me.
we are your pals, allys, friends.
we are your reflections.
let us make the “world” greater and
let us make the “world” beautiful again.

i am you, you are me; we are all to be.


Categories Poetry

He was born in 1973 in Trabzon, Turkey. His first poems were published in Sombahar magazine. In 1997, he was included in the "Poets of the 90s" file prepared by Hürriyet Gosteri magazine. His third book "etnik sentetik" was published in 2008 by AuthorCrossing in the United States. He is on the editorial board of Pathos literature magazine. He is a member of Pen Turkey, Pen America, Pen Canada, Academy of American Poets and Europeam Writers' Association.

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