Don Quixote

The knight of immortal youth
at the age of fifty found his mind in his heart
and on a July morning went out to capture
the right, the beautiful, the just.

Facing him a world of silly and arrogant giants,
he on his sad but brave Rocinante.

I know what it means to be longing for something,
but if your heart weighs only a pound
                                         and sixteen ounces,
there’s no sense, my Don, in fighting
                                           these senseless windmills.
 
But you are right, of course, Dulcinea is your women,
the most beautiful in the world;
I’m sure you’ll shout this fact
at the face of street-traders;
but they”ll pull you down from your horse
and beat you up.
But you, the unbeatable knight of our cause,
will continue to glow behind the heavy, iron visor
and Dulcinea will become even more beautiful.
                                                                       1947
Tr. from the Turkish by Taner Baybars