Conteporary Azerbaijani Poetry: Vagif Samadoghlu
Vagif Samadoghlu (full name Vakilov Vagif Samad Vurghun oghlu) was a well-known Azerbaijani poet, a writer, a dramatist and a producer. He was born on June 5, 1939 in Baku and attended the Bulbul School of Music and graduated from Baku's Music Conservatory (now Academy) and then went on to study at Moscow Conservatory named after Tchaikovsky. His father, Samad Vurghun (1906-1956) was the first poet to be awarded the status of National Poet. Vaqif was a Member of the Azerbaijan’s Parliament. He was a brother of the novelist and short story writer, the late Yusif Samadoghlu (1935-1998) who was also a Member of the Azerbaijani Parliament.
Vagif Samadoghlu was a member of the Azerbaijan Writers" Union. He is the author of over 20 books such as A Telegram from the Road (1968), Fortune of the Day (1972), I Am Here, God (1996), Far Green Island (1999), The Ring of Fate (1999).
He died in 2015 in Baku.
The Day When I Die...
The day when I die
the wind will blow in the streets.
And it will sway
a yellow flowered child dress
that hung and dried.
The child dress will wave
like a funeral flag
on the day when I die...
1982.
Azeri Language
I might forget your rules,
but
I can never forget your vocabulary,
nor your various dialects.
If one day
the cold winds of life
cast me into a sea of other languages
I would not forget
even for a moment-
your sorrow and joy,
your hope
and passion.
My mother tongue!
My Azeri language!
One Day This Telephone Will Ring
One day
this telephone will ring
and I will hear a native voice
close to me like death...
In the life sounds
will sound a vacuum
and the other voices in the world
will seem to me useless.
And that moment
Neither the rustle
of the twinkling stars, nor
the shine of the child laughter
won"t be needed to me any more.
I will hear
a native voice
close to me like death...
1982.
Translated by Kamran Nazirli