Coffee and Prayers in Sultanahmet

I sip my coffee and look down on the cobblestone streets of Sultanahmet

In the shade of magnolia and honeysuckle,

With the Bosporus air in my lungs

And zencefil on my tongue,

I listen to the Ezan – call the faithful to prayer.

Between the Blue Mosque and the Hagia,

I chew my bazlama and listen to the muezzin’s duet.

Why is it so easy and so difficult to forget?

♾️

Theodoaian stone walls withhold these devotions

Like silt on the Marmara, all renditions are repeated,

Layer upon layer, myth upon truth, word upon deed,

The cat who sleeps in the Judas tree

The washing line bracelet from roof terrace to balcony

The minaret’s, standing like alter guardsman over their father

Or mother, while August morning shadows

Roll over the rooftops like black silk over sleeping lovers.

♾️

A family of leaves rustle in a seldom felt breeze

Announcing their own prayers to the balcony oleanders,

The olive grove vines, the copper oil lamps lining the bazaar

Even the barista, with her aubergine scarf, hears the call

To bridge the gap, between east and west,

Balance on your fingertip, the vast emptiness that heaves

Its weight on us all, from time to time…

Yet still we sing and mumble our strange words, in an effort to quell the tide.

@shoreditchpoet

For Dad, who would have been 99 today. He taught me to think rather than simply accept, to listen, and more importantly, to hear.

#turkey #istanbul #poetry #islam #christian #togetherness #love