Dila Toplusoy

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‘the job of the living is to live,
the job of the dead is to die,’

says our teacher
in front of the village graveyard, covered with olive groves –

a place where we do not belong
yet –

we all know we are bound to change roles,
the way those olives are bound to become oil.

sooner or later, we will be the subjects
of the latter statement –

but until then, the job description is
golden clear.

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Dila Toplusoy is an Istanbul-born poet whose work has appeared or is forthcoming in Skylight 47, CERASUS, t’ART, La Piccioletta Barca, Sky Island Journal, Needle Poetry and Amethyst Review, among others. She is a content editor at ARCCA Magazine and holds a first-class honours degree from University of the Arts London.