All About Books discussion

Not a perfect poem by any means, but I love its directness and good-heartedness. I wonder what it's like in the original Turkish? Stick with it - it gets better as it goes. Not the sort of poem I would've expected from a man who spent much of his life in prison for political reasons. I like the spirit of this poem.


The Last Bus
by Nazim Hikmet

The last bus at midnight
the conductor hands me a ticket.
Neither bad news nor a big dinner
      is waiting for me at home.
For me, absence waits.
I approach it without fear
      and without sadness.
The last dark is dawning for me.
At last I can look at the world
      quietly and in peace.
I am no longer surprised by the treachery of a friend,
      the knife concealed in a handshake.
It is useless - the enemy cannot provoke me now.
I passed through the forest of idols
      with my axe -
      how easily they all came down.
I put the things I believed in to the test once more,
  I'm thankful that most of them turned out pure.
I have never been radiant this way,
      never free like this.
The last dark is dawning for me.
At last I can look at the world
      quietly and in peace.
It suddenly comes upon me out of the past
when I'm not looking -
  a word
   a smell
    the gesture of a hand.
     The word is friendly
      the smell beautiful,
      the hand is in a hand, my love.
The call of memory no longer makes me sad.
I have no complaints about memories.
In fact I have no complaints about anything,
not even about my heart
      aching nonstop like a big tooth.
The last dark is dawning for me.
Now neither the pride of the seer nor the scribe's claptrap.
I'm pouring bowls of light over my head,
I can look at the sun and I'm not dazzled.
And perhaps - what a pity -
    the most beautiful lie
      will no longer seduce me.
Words can't make me drunk anymore,
neither mine nor anyone else's.
That's how it goes, my rose.
Death now is awfully close.
The world is a world more beautiful than ever.
The world was my suit of clothes,
      I started undressing.
I was at the window of the train,
      now I'm at the station.
I was inside the house,
      now I'm at the door - it's open.
I love the guests twice as much.
And the heat is blonder than ever,
      the snow whiter than ever.

from Things I Didn't Know I Loved, Nâzım Hikmet, trans. Randy Blasing & Mutlu Konuk, Persea Books: 1975.


Nazim Hikmet

I love this piece; and this poet, as I've already told right here!

Thanks Laura, I think he's great too!

I've only read the one book by him. It's a shame that there don't seem to be that many books of his translated into English. Do they have more of them translated into Italian, I wonder?

Someone else hasn't shared this particular poem yet, have they? If so, oops!! I checked the catalogue before I posted, I swear! :) I saw that someone had posted 'Angina Pectoris' a while ago, but I didn't see this one yet.

I like this one, Greg. The sheer raw openness, and calm acceptance.

Some powerful visual descriptions:

"I passed through the forest of idols
with my axe -
how easily they all came down."

"The world was my suit of clothes"

I like the way he describes acceptance -
"I approach it without fear
and without sadness.
The last dark is dawning for me.
At last I can look at the world
quietly and in peace."

Yet, even though he says "without sadness" the poem seems melancholy to me.

Good choice Greg!

Those are some of my favorite lines too Monica. :)

Also for some reason, I love the lines: "And perhaps - what a pity / the most beautiful lies - / will no longer seduce me."

Loved this, no regrets just looking back and thinking. Everything more vibrant at the end, hope so.

Very moving and wonderful imagery. I also really liked the lines, Monica and Greg, that you noted. Also the reference to his heart "aching nonstop like a big tooth."

I feel such sadness within this poem, and I'm not sure I believe his professed invulnerability to the painfulness he has clearly intimately known.

It's true Tejas Janet. I don't know if anyone could be at peace with everything quite as much as he says .. but still, the poem feels hopeful to me.

I love the sense that he won't stop appreciating what goes on around him (the snow, the heat) and that he won't stop loving his guests - that he won't let go of that spark of naive joy until the very last moment.

'Straight forward and direct' as you say in the intro. Liked it.

It seems clear he thinks he's approaching death. And in this saying goodbye to life, the intensity of his love for life's precious and beautiful moments increases. It feels like a goodbye and a thank you for what was good in life. The hopefulness is only that this it what he most remembers and cares about. That's how I see it any way.

Tejas Janet wrote: "It seems clear he thinks he's approaching death. And in this saying goodbye to life, the intensity of his love for life's precious and beautiful moments increases. It feels like a goodbye and a tha..."

Yes, you read the poem very well, and you express it much better than I did. But somehow the poem does make me feel hopeful about the human condition - I think because instead of despair at the last moment, there is intensified love, love not only for those precious and beautiful moments, but also for the loveliness of what earth has to offer (the snow) and also for people (his guests)! Approaching death is certainly not always like that, and it cheers my heart a bit to imagine that it can be like that, at least sometimes, maybe. Does that make sense?

I also am noticing how this poem keeps drawing me back to read again. It really engages my mind, senses, and emotions.

I was looking at quotes today for my brother who is going thru a stressful time, and this one brought Hikmet's "Last Bus" poem to mind.

We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey. ~Kenji Miyazawa

Greg wrote: "Tejas Janet wrote: "It seems clear he thinks he's approaching death. And in this saying goodbye to life, the intensity of his love for life's precious and beautiful moments increases. It feels like..."

Yes, that does make sense, Greg. It's like he can feel still feel hope even as he approaches death and has experienced - and transcended - suffering emotionally. Thanks for helping me gain more insight into this poem.

Tejas Janet wrote: "I was looking at quotes today for my brother who is going thru a stressful time, and this one brought Hikmet's "Last Bus" poem to mind.

We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey. ~Kenji Miyazawa"

Thanks Tejas Janet! I love this quote - I also think it's true. I'm not familiar with Miyazawa, but I'll have to look him up!

It reminds me a little of a quote I added last year by the poet Stephen Spender:

"Him I delight in accepts joy as joy;
He is richened by sorrow as a river by its bends"

I hope things get better for your brother Tejas Janet! You'll both be in my thoughts.

Tejas Janet wrote: "Greg wrote: "Yes, that does make sense, Greg. It's like he can feel still feel hope even as he approaches death and has experienced - and transcended - suffering emotionally. Thanks for helping me gain more insight into this poem.
..."

I think I gained just as much insight from you on this poem! It's been a wonderful discussion as always. I've really enjoyed talking with you on the threads over the past months! :)

I'm looking forward to your next Monday Poem too. Baudelaire was a great choice a few weeks ago!

Thanks Greg. Will look towards July for signing up again for a Monday poem.

Closing thoughts on "The Last Bus." I also noted and appreciated how Nazim Hikmet referred to people as "guests."

I love that sentiment. Recognizing our transient and special relationship to life on Earth.

I don't love embracing pain to be honest tho. But also know that I have grown most thru painful experiences, whether physically painful, emotionally painful, or both.

Thanks for your kind words and good wishes.

Tejas Janet wrote: "I love that sentiment. Recognizing our transient and special relationship to life on Earth.

I don't love embracing pain to be honest tho. But also know that I have grown most thru painful experiences, whether physically painful, emotionally painful, or both.
..."

I agree with you exactly on both counts!

I read this when you first posted and meant to comment then, but didn't. Now I am reading it again and finding it so moving, especially the last part, from "Death now is awfully close..."

It's so beautifully written, it brings tears to my eyes.

Funny, same here, I read it in a hurry and meant to come back to it again. It's a beautiful poem. I love it's sentiment and the lines "The world was my suit of clothes, I started undressing." will stick with me for quite a while I think.

Shirley wrote: "I read this when you first posted and meant to comment then, but didn't. Now I am reading it again and finding it so moving, especially the last part, from "Death now is awfully close..."

It's so ..."

That part gets me too Shirley! I'll admit I got a little teary as well, maybe trying to imagine my dad into this kind of peace as he's been so very ill.

Jenny wrote: "Funny, same here, I read it in a hurry and meant to come back to it again. It's a beautiful poem. I love it's sentiment and the lines "The world was my suit of clothes, I started undressing." will ..."

I like that line too! Monica mentioned liking it as well I think.