This week’s poem, Kerem Durdag’s “half light,” invites us into spiritual praise on the banks of the Bosphorus, the narrow strait that runs through Turkey. I love how beautifully this poem opens through its short lines, breath by breath, into a state of divine connection and wholeness. I also love how, in the final stanza, the speaker steps back to gaze at this state in quiet awe.

Durdag is Turkish, was born and raised in Pakistan, and has lived in Maine for the last 20 years. “As an immigrant throughout my life,” he says, “the trajectory of my journey traverses multiple locations and sunbeams.” Durdag is an entrepreneur and member of the business and investment ecosystem, and he contributes on several for-profit and nonprofit boards. He was selected by Portland Ovations for a commission for his musical performance piece “SoulRoar,” a collaboration with violinist Andy Happel about the immigrant journey.

half light

By Kerem Durdag

I am in this half light
because of your love
in a place
where the wails of
the call to prayer
complete me
reduce me
this half light
as Christ beckons
to me
with Gabriel unfurling
his wings
and I
on my knees
bow my head
to the carpet
and say
You are my God
and Muhammed is
His Prophet

On some days
by the Bosphorus
it really
is that simple.

Megan Grumbling is a poet and writer who lives in Portland. Deep Water: Maine Poems is produced in collaboration with the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance. “half light,” copyright © 2021 by Kerem Durdag, appears by permission of the author.