God, Can the Sobbing of a Child

(Written 1985)

by Vagif Samadoghlu / January 25th, 2015

God, can the sobbing of a child,
once beaten,
Be heard today
beside this fence?

Forty years later
Can his teardrops
Fall upon the earth
Here by this olive tree
Where the leaves are so dusty?

Perhaps, weeping
in the presence of a tree
Is one of the greatest sins

Maybe, a teardrop
Shed under a tree
Is much worse for the tree
Than even an ax.

Vagif Samadoghlu, born in Azerbaijan in 1939, is a jazz pianist who pursued literarature. He was named Azerbaijan's National poet in 1999. His first volume of poetry, Song to the Sun while Sitting in Darkness, was translated into English and published in September 2014. An extended bio, as well as a free download of Song to the Sun is here. Read other articles by Vagif.

This article was posted on Sunday, January 25th, 2015 at 8:01am and is filed under Poetry.