A flag,

Potent symbol of a nation,

A link to the 18th and 19th centuries,

And the Ottoman Empire.

Red, to represent war and the survival of it,

A white crescent moon and a star,

Symbolising Osman I’s dream

Of a moon rising from the breast of a judge,

Whose daughter he wanted to marry.

When full, the moon descended into

Osman’s own chest,

A tree grew from his loins,

Lush, strong,

That covered the entire world,

And the world flourished in its shadow.

A red flag,

With a whIte crescent moon and a star,

Banner of the Ottoman Empire,

National flag of Turkey.

© Caro Ness 2015