Analysis of The Poem “Our Old Mansion” By Nesrin Erbil

This study examines the poetic vision and literary position of Nesrin Erbil, one of the prominent poets of contemporary Iraqi Turkmen literature. In her poetry, Nesrin Erbil gives considerable space not only to themes such as people, nation, freedom, and homeland, but also to childhood memories and past sorrows. The focus of this study is her poem Our Old Mansion (Eski Konağımız), included in her poetry collection Wounded Bird (Yaralı Kuş). In this poem, the poet evokes a deep longing for childhood memories, recollections of family members, and the emotions hidden in every corner of the old house, all conveyed through powerful imagery. The poem employs symbolic representations of figures such as the mother, father, and siblings, and offers an emotionally charged narrative of the past through depictions of places and objects. This analysis not only explores the thematic structure of the poem but also addresses Erbil’s descriptive style, assessing the influence of her interest in visual arts on her poetic language. Accordingly, Our Old Mansion is examined in terms of both form and content, and is presented as a representative example of memory-themed works in Turkmen poetry in terms of their literary quality.