Bahtiyar Hidayet
For Jennifer Lopez
In your underwear photo
You affect the human subconscious.
Your body is like an ancient hourglass,
And you — a modern lady,
Time itself grows old, but you do not.
Your body is like an hourglass,
You have as many admirers as grains of sand.
Your body is like an hourglass,
The pulse of those who love you
Is measured by their wristwatches.
Your body is like an hourglass,
Wall clocks have grown old,
Now the hands of those clocks
Are like old men walking on three legs.
You are also like wine —
As the years pass, your quality increases,
And you drive people crazy.
Your voice, however,
Is melodious like the sound of a clock.
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2
Because he had grown old, a shepherd dog was abandoned.
He whimpered in front of a butcher’s shop in the city.
The butcher took pity on him
And threw him the head of a ram.
A few days later, the dog’s body was found nearby.
He had not eaten the ram’s head.
He had laid his own head upon it and died.
By the way—
That ram had been the old ram of the flock he once guarded.
The butcher became very moved.
His own old age came before his eyes.
His father was in a retirement home.
His son was in prison because of drug addiction.
Bahtiyar Hidayet, Azerbaijan
