Kayaköy, your bleached stones bloom before me.
Mourning your children snatched before their time,
your silent wailing groans throughout your homes,
echoes disturbing graves and gathered grime.

But even as these tears descend there’s hope:
chaffinches become redemption’s raucous choir
and nature’s tendrils reach around each stone,
their blooms composing a far more cheerful flower.

We hiked back to revisit Kayaköy having been there a few years back. A place of terrible atrocious which is gradually being taken over by an abundance of wildlife.
(09.04.26)

© Ben Quant 2026