In May 2021, Tarana Turan Rahimli’s poems were first translated and made available to Vietnamese readers. Her poems quickly became well-known in the local literary community. Her unique, strong, yet delicate literary style captures the essence and cultural splendor of Central Asia. Several local publications have published Tarana’s poems alongside her photograph. Aside from the strange and outstanding poems, there is an image of a beautiful Azerbaijani woman with brilliant, clear, firm, and deep eyes. Those eyes revealed the spirit of her poems and her poems allowed us to comprehend the deep and secret feelings in those expressive eyes as well. These are my first impressions of the poetess Tarana Turan Rahimli from the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Tarana Turan Rahimli’s poetry depicts a life that is not smooth, rich and varied, with numerous winding and rugged paths that may be near to deadly rivers, steep and jagged cliffs. And there may be many obstacles with pitfalls and challenges on such paths. But, curiously, after reading Tarana’s poems, everyone of us believes and loves our lives more and more, adding much hope for a brighter future and more faith in others. The circumstances I just described is portrayed in her poem "Inside me there is love even to a stone":
"Again my eyes shivered,
How cold your looks are!
Your words as if are frozen,
There is no warmth in your words".
Short routes and long paths in Tarana Turan Rahimli’s poems represent the distance in love, the distance between us, human beings with fellow human beings, between one nation and another. Despite the fact that they may see each other, perform everyday tasks together, and even share a roof, it is hard for them to understand, relate to, and empathize with one another. If this is real life, it will not be resolved overnight. That isolation seems to have created a deep divide between two people as well as people in society. Tarana Turan Rahimli, on the other hand, immediately fills in the spaces she has left for her readers with enormous selflessness, intense and real love, embodied in the strength and beauty of poetry.
"Don’t worry that you are so cold,
Inside me there is love even to a stone".
( "Inside me there is love even to a stone".)
In the first stanza of the preceding poem, the reader is still disturbed by barriers and the coldness in the man she loves. However, at the end of the poem, the poetess has dispelled the cold, transforming the distance into togetherness. The intensity of the final stanza has accelerated the overall pace of the poem. Tarana performed this miracle because she had always believed in her real love and her unwavering loyalty. That love has the power to “melt mountain rocks”. It is a wonderful dedication, like a believer joyfully giving God her entire life.
Tarana Turan Rahimli believes in her love as much as she does in light and truth. Her poetry usually creates the impression that light is dominant, implying that energy and power are many times greater than darkness. It is normal to observe light and darkness in this planet always at odds, chasing each other over the two halves of the earth. When half of the earth is dark, the other half is light. Tarana’s poetry, on the other hand, emits light with more amplitude and lasts longer than the laws of the universe. For her own poetry, she created a law of time and a law of light. The light in her poetry constantly shines brightly, demonstrating that evil is always repelled and will be eradicated. Even the fortresses of lies quickly fall, and the courts of truth are always opened.
"The fires will be made
For the guilty past.
They will choose only the words
And will keep only them..
And ..and they will recognize me
From my love! "
(They will recognize me from my love")
In this poem, the poetess Tarana Turan Rahimli appears as a heroic warrior who has defeated all fearsome enemies. In this life, such enemies are evil, deception, and even insensitivity. She also reminded me of another image of her as a precious pearl, silently growing up in a giant clam in the middle of the vast ocean. Despite the big waves and high winds, that pearl was glowing brighter and brighter. Now, through its beautiful poems, that pearl is revealing its entire shape to readers.
Each poet appears to have a unique understanding and portrayal of love. Tarana Turan Rahimli has allowed readers to marvel at the peculiar beauty and mystery of the Azerbaijani people’s soul. It is the pristine beauty of a distinct cultural land, combining ancient beauty with modernity. That love is represented both intensely and subtly in her poetry, which incorporates both Eastern and Western cultural ideals. Tarana's verses are suggestive of a newly erupted volcano, but its capability and underlying strength are predictable.
I came across a very nice and unique passage in the poem "All the people talk nonsense...":
"This city is luckless beauty,
Its face smiles, but hart doesn’t smile."
The heart of the city seemed to beat and sparkle in Tarana Turan Rahimli's poetry because it empathized with all the pain, shared all the hardships of human lives in it. The image of "hart doesn't smile" has transformed Tarana's city into a confidante, a vibrant life with all its ups and downs.
"It lost all its patience,
It is looking for patience on the ways.
It looks for a grave
For to empty its sorrow into it.".
("All the people talk nonsense...")
All difficulties and obstacles in Tarana Turan Rahimli's poems are often overcome by her in such way. It's as though good always triumphs over evil, and darkness is always pushed back, making room for light to fill.
Tarana Turan Rahimli's poems have always been as intriguing and mysterious as her eyes. It has a hypnotizing effect, transporting the reader to another planet. Each of her poems frequently creates a distinct, one-of-a-kind, and unpredictable space. The reality of life in that space appears to be deep, like an abyss to which we cannot see the bottom. That abyss always evokes feelings of precariousness, danger, and insecurity, but Tarana's poems have appeared as a dear friend who always gives a warm, sincere hand to each of us. I always hear close, warm, and painful calls from each verse of Tarana Turan Rahimli. That call is like an urge, encouraging us to overcome all barriers, divisions, and discrimination in this volatile life.
Ninh Binh, April 14, 2023
M.V.P
Cometarii
Thank you so much great poet Trandafir Simpetru!