İkizler 22

This poem was written during my stay at the League of Stars in 2025. One evening, while observing the Gemini constellation, we were told the myth of Pollux and Castor. Shortly after, we did a group workshop, and I began writing what became a conversation between Pollux and Zeus.

The story resonated with me on a deeply personal level. I am a Gemini. I have a twin sister. When we were younger, she was seriously ill. I was the "strong" one, the one who could function, while she struggled. Listening to the myth of the immortal twin who survives while his mortal brother dies felt almost unbearable in its familiarity.

In the poem, Pollux addresses Zeus, questioning immortality and the meaning of survival when the other half is missing. It is less a retelling of the myth and more an emotional translation of it.

The ceramic frame echoes the duality of Gemini: two sides, one shared space. The poem sits in the centre as a space of negotiation between immortality and mortality, strength and vulnerability, self and twin.