I am a woman, created by God at an auspicious hour. In my eyes, in my heart is God, the light of love!
Tarana Turan Rahimli, an eminent poetess and writer of Azerbaijan, shares her poetry
Tarana Turan Rahimli was born into an educated family on February 20, in 1970, in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan. She is Associate Prof. Dr. Tarana Turan Rahimli is an Azerbaijani poet, writer, journalist, translator, literary critic, teacher, academic, and an active member of the International Literary Agency in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Philippine, Kazakhstan, Italy, Oman, Belgium, and USA. She is a doctor of philological sciences, author of 9 books and more than 500 articles. She is the editor and reviewer of 25 monographs and poetry books. Her poems and prose works have been translated into 35 languages. The work has been published in more than 45 Western and Eastern countries. Prominent poets and literary critics of 15 countries wrote articles about his poetry, and his interviews were published in 27 countries. She has been awarded with more than 50 international awards and 300 honorary degrees and diplomas. In Turkey her two books “They will recognize me from my love” (Izmir, 2013,) “The poem that I didn’t write to you” (Ankara, 2013) have been published. She translated the poems of about 200 world poets from Turkish, Russian and English into Azerbaijani. In 2024, she translated the poems of the Italian poet Claudia Piccinno into Azerbaijani. She has been awarded with more than 50 international awards and 300 honorary degrees and diplomas.
I AM A WOMAN
I’m not an artist,
But I know colors that many artists don’t.
The color of love, the color of longing,
The color of pain…
I’m not a composer,
But I hear sounds
That every composer doesn’t hear.
The sound of separation, sadness, hope.
I am not a gardener,
But I know the fragrance of
Months and days like flowers.
My life is decorated
With a fragrant garland of bright emotions.
I am not an artist,
I am not a composer,
I am not a gardener…
I am a woman,
Created by God at an auspicious hour.
In my eyes, in my heart
Is God the light of love!
***
I AM NOT THE ONE IN THE MIRROR
It ran, looked, familiar face,
Followed a piece of life.
I looked around for myself.
I’m not the one in the mirror.
It was ice statue in the stone mirror,
Frozen ice looking in the mirror.
My eyes are spring, summer, winter in the mirror,
I’m not the one in the mirror.
Luck it was my mirror reflects my luck
Shows me a golden bed.
My God, what a happy shows
I’m not the one in the mirror.
My shots were numerous,
My eyes don’t even smile.
The mirror can’t look at me
I’m not the one in the mirror.
***
I WAS SO QUIET THEY MET WITH A STONE
What place was this?
Who sent me here?
The giants saw the way
They made me travel a hundred miles.
They didn’t hear what I heard
They didn’t suffer enough.
They left no space in me
Say, where did I hide me?!
They took my spring like winter
They were confused as to what I did.
They knew I was quiet
They pushed me against the wall.
***
IF YOU WROTE LETTER
You wrote a letter,
No fragrance, no breath.
In one of the lines
No sound of your heart
You wrote a letter,
It was cold-blooded.
Warm but saying no word
How did you send it?
You wrote a letter,
Feeling, emotionless.
My mind was restless
I stayed sleepless.
You wrote a letter,
As the blind’s staff
Scratches the ground.
As engraver wrote
On his headstone…
(English translation by Anit Roy)
______________________
Prepared by Angela Kosta Academic, journalist, writer, poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, translator