What Was That Voice?

… و الیه راجعون

Last Friday, our dear colleagues Amir Zamanifar and Rosa Ajiri were flown to Tehran (from there to Rasht) and Los Angeles, respectively, to be left to rest in peace.

On September 29, they were killed in a tragic car accident near Prague, Czech Republic, where they lived and worked for RFE/RL’s Radio Farda. A third Radio Farda journalist, Mahin Gorji, severely injured, still is in a coma, fighting for her life.

We will remember Amir and Rosa and continue to pray for Mahin’s life.

This is a translation of a poem, originally in Azeri Turkish, that I wrote back in 1987:

The Flow of Life

What was that voice?
An outcry in the morning’s freshness –
Echoless and lost.

What happened to that love, courage, faith and desire?
A white, straight line flying,
Crossing the sky’s blue pages.

Then: the fall.
Commotion and rush, and an unbearable heat of the hell.
Obedience in the rebellion,
Stillness in the tumult.
Adaptation.

And this damned, uncertain waiting for an oasis:
The evening and a moment of peace…

Ömür Geçidi

Neydi o ses?
Sübhün teravetinde teninsiz qalan, iten
Feryad.

N’oldu o eşq, cesaret, inam, heves?
Mavi sehifelerde qetolunan, natemam, yarım,
Ağ, düz bir imtidad.

Sonra süqut,
Hengame, qaç-ha-qaç ve dözülmez cehennem istisi.
İsyan içinde mütilik, xüruş içinde sükut.
Adet.
Ve qehreden, serab kimi namelum intizar:
Axşam ve bir dem-i rahet…