poetry

Ramo and Saliha

Ramo and Saliha first saw each other While tending sheep in the mountains. They courted for three long years. When the fourth year came, Ramo was sent away to the mountains And Saliha betrothed to another. The news traveled to Ramo in the mountains, and he came down to face the wedding party. He grabbed Saliha’s horse by the reins: “Stop, Saliha, let’s settle up!” “What is there to settle, Ramo? You gave me pants, worth three hundred akçe.
Two waistbands, kırk akçe each.
So that, Ramo, is üç yüz seksen akçe. You gave me silk, seksen akçe. So that, Ramo, is dört yüz altmış akçe. You gave me halva, worth altmış akçe. So that, Ramo, is beş yüz yirmi akçe. You gave me rose water, altmış akçe. So that, Ramo, is beş yüz seksen akçe. You gave me rusma, yirmi akçe. So that, Ramo, is six hundred flat. If you bought me pants, You ripped them round your neck. If you bought me waistbands, You tore them with your teeth. If you bought me silk, You ripped the kerchiefs I embroidered. If you bought me halva, You had some with me. If you bought me rusma, My cunt was all the prettier for you.” Ramo let go of Saliha’s horse. Bitterly he spoke to the party: “Take that fucking Saliha away!”

translated by denis ferhatović source: https://exchanges.uiowa.edu/turkoslavia/issues/issue-1/ramo-and-saliha/