Statement of Record

Night Terrors

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Night Terrors

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By Sevda Akyuz

almost but not quite
sounds like an apt
description of all things I
went through
          under and above 
          in and out
          up and down
but mostly down

mossy stone
by the bosphorus
unable to stick
rolls into the ripples of
ferry foam

slippery slope paved by
past predilections
along sariyer sunsets
brooded over alone
long gone
in consistent self-contradiction
à la whitman

me myself and I
against the whole wide world
hurray for individualism, yo!
red herrings
ever recurrent and reeking
sleepless as
sleep of reason produces monsters
bats and owls and falcons
with a lynx lying alert in the corner
let them lie
mysterious and capricious

unravel night terrors 
of petrified sleep
in the darkest hour 
crimson neon blinks 
vexed on the night stand

post hoc ergo propter hoc
monstrous self-indictment
trying to rear its ugly head 
from under the bed
slouching towards hagia sophia
that terrible beauty of byzantion

street noises dim 
even in the back alleys of istanbul 
in the nearing dawn
the last drunkards are gone
taking their self-importance 
and smell of aniseed home  

About the author

Sevda Akyüz studied English Literature at Bogazici University. She has taught English and Academic Writing at the University of Nevada, Reno; Bogazici University; and Koc University. She has also taught Western Civilizations, Translation, History of Drama, and Film Studies. She edits and translates books, articles, stories, plays, and poems.

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