John Delaney’s publications include Waypoints (2017), a collection of place poems, Twenty Questions (2019), a chapbook, Delicate Arch (2022), poems and photographs of national parks and monuments, and Galápagos (2023), a collaborative chapbook of his son Andrew’s photographs and John’s poems. Nile, a chapbook of poems and photographs about Egypt, appeared in May 2024. John Delaney lives in Port Townsend, WA.
Please visit John Delaney’s website: https://www.johnmdelaney.com/
From the Galata Tower
Yes, you can see the Golden Horn from here,
the Topkapi Palace of the sultans
and the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque,
which, completed in 537,
became the world’s largest interior space.
It changed the history of architecture.
A 17th-century story relates
how an Ottoman scientist strapped on
handmade wings and achieved an unpowered flight
from here, landing across in Üsküdar:
the first intercontinental flight!
The sultan banned him to Algeria.
Yes, the risks are real. But that’s how you reap.
Spread your thoughts like wings, and let’s take a leap!
First built in 1384, the Galata Tower is one of the oldest towers in the world and was used as a long-term fire tower. It is one of the iconic symbols of Istanbul. A natural harbor and estuary, the Golden Horn separates the historic district from the modern.
Tasked in Troy
Presumably, here was the main gate,
where massive limestone walls and towers
guarded the entrance from the Trojan Horse.
Where the rage of Achilles vanquished Hector.
Myth or fact, did it ever have to matter
as long as the past was shared history,
as long as men insure their memories
of places and events are passed down?
As I walked on grass, past the fallen stones,
I felt tasked to conjure up toy soldiers
and forts that I had played with as a boy,
my version of Troy and its siege of time.
But it was a beautiful, peaceful day,
and the burden was simply lifted away.
Archaeological evidence designates various time periods for Troy: Troy I (top photo), 3000-2550 B,C.; Troy VI (bottom photo), 1750-1350 B.C. Aspects of Troy VI architecture are consistent with the Iliad’s description of mythic Troy.
A Morning Cruise on the Bosphorus
You straddle two hemispheres
of your brain each day
as you channel your way
toward a new awakening.
It was like that this morning
out on the water
making waves with the boat
and occasionally horning
at traffic. Under the spanning bridge,
past the mosques and Topkapi
of the Golden Horn, happy
passengers, we circled back north
where old mansions still
cuddle the shore with the glory
of their storied past
and their occupants’ will.
We were lucky to witness
where the East and West mate,
and where the Strait
opens and your mind clears.
The Bosphorus is a natural strait between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Geographically, it separates Europe from Asia Minor and divides the city of Istanbul.
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Poetry & Images in this post: © John Delaney
Published with the permission of John Delaney