Lament
To be a woman
means being invaded, O mum!
they took of my everything
a woman took my childhood
a man, my womanhood…
God should not create woman
God does not know how to give birth
here, the ribs of all men
are broken
our neck is thinner than hair
men are carrying us
like a funeral on their shoulders
we have been under their feet
light like a feather
we flew from a world to an Adam
and my words are, oh mum!
their footprints….
© Müesser Yeniay
Müesser Yeniay was born in İzmir, Turkey, in 1984. She graduated from Ege University, with a degree in English Language and Literature. She has a number of prizes in Turkey including the Yunus Emre (2006), Homeros Attila İlhan (2007), Ali Riza Ertan (2009), and Enver Gökçe (2013) poetry prizes. Her first book, Dibine Düşüyor Karanlık da, was published in 2009. Her second book, Evimi Dağlara Kurdum, is a collection of translations from world poetry. Her latest book Yeniden Çizdim Göğü was published in 2011. Her poems have been published in numerous magazines worldwide. Müesser is the editor of the literature magazine Şiirden (Of Poetry). She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Turkish literature at Bilkent University, Ankara. She is a member of PEN and the Writers Syndicate of Turkey.