Zeynep Hatun (15th c.)
I Am a Fountain, You Are My Water
I am a fountain, You are my water.
I flow from You to You.
I am an eye, You are my light.
I look from You to You.
You are neither my right nor my left.
You are my foot and my arm as well.
I am a traveler, You are my road.
I go from You to You.
Translated by Murat Yagan.
Zeynep Hatun (15th c.) was one of the first significant female voices of Ottoman poetry. Little is known about her life, but sources agree that she came from a wealthy family, was well educated, and lived in Istanbul. Camille Helminski writes that “Zeynep Hatun [was] one of the strong women of Sufism around whom people have gathered for light and guidance in the Ankara region of Turkey for many years.” This poem comes from This Dance of Bliss: Ecstatic Poetry from Around the World, Ed. Ivan M. Granger (Poetry Chaikhana, 2018).
Selected by Amy Frykholm: amy@journeywithjesus.net
