Q&A with Kaz Dağları – a poem by Dila Toplusoy

Q&A with Kaz Dağları


Q: How does it feel to keep sitting still 
when everything around you constantly 
shifts, shatters, sinks?

A: It feels natural —
it's in my nature.
But that doesn't mean I don't shift, shatter and sink. 
It may not happen often and you may not see it,
but that doesn't mean it never happens.
Whatever happens in nature also happens in me
as I am part of nature, and nature is part of me. 
So yes,
it feels natural.

Q: How could I keep sitting still
in the face of all that comes and goes, how can I carry on
in the face of all that is lost?

A: By continuing to look
deeply into the nature 
of existence, until you realize
there is no coming and no going
and nothing is lost.
You don't need to carry any hope to carry on,
just continue to look deeply.
You also don't need to take my word for it —
see it for yourself
by continuing to look.

Q: How can I be like you?

A: You are
like me —
Notice yourself.
Notice me.
Notice our aliveness.
Notice that you, too, are part of nature —
part of me.
Notice the echoes
of our interconnectedness.
Notice yourself —
You are
(like) me.

Dila Toplusoy is an emerging writer and poet from Istanbul who writes in English, her second language. She holds a First Class Honours degree from University of the Arts London. Her work has been published by La Piccioletta Barca, Sky Island Journal, Sidekick Books and The Pandemic Post, among others. You can find her on Instagram as @dilaquis.