Akılla Bir Konuşmam Oldu [English translation]

Last night I had a talk with my mind

I have some things to ask you, I said

You, who are the base of every possible knowledge,

Should show me my way

I'm fed up with living, what should I do?

Try to stand it for a few more years, it said.

What is, I asked, what is that what we call "living"?

A dream, it said, a few visions.

What does having houses and possessions mean?

In order to have some pleasure for a short while,

Suffering for ages, it said.

What kind of people are these tyrants, I asked.

Wolves, dogs, jackals and so on, it said.

What do you say to those men, I asked;

Cowards, fools, corrupts, it said.

That crazy heart of mine, I said,

When is it going to smarten up?

After its ears are pulled for a little bit more, it said.

What do you say to these sayings of Khayyam1, I asked.

I'd say he lined them one after another,

And confabbed, it said.

When I don't exist, these roses, these cypresses don't exist

Scarlet lips, fragrant wines don't exist

Mornings, evenings, joys and sorrows don't exist

The world exists as long as I think; if I don't exist, neither does it.

1. Omar Khayyam (1048-1131) was a Persian polymath, scholar, mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and poet, widely considered to be one of the most influential thinkers of the Middle Ages. He's famous for his Rubaiyat.