Poems by Bahtiyar Hidayet, Azerbaijan
1
For Ronaldo
My son's football was flat,
We filled it with the neighbor’s car pump.
... A car, a pump, a ball—
Is there a connection here?
And my son’s shirt says "Ronaldo 7."
When Ronaldo plays,
It’s like all four legs move at once,
His body like a pump-filled ball.
A football machine.
On roads meant for forty,
He still drives at twenty.
What a speed, Ronaldo—
And no radar can catch him.
2
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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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3
For Alissa White-Gluz
-
Queen of metal songs,
A delicate voice, yet a woman of iron.
But iron is in the 26th place in the Mendeleev table,
While you are in the first place among the stars of the world.
It is said in religion that
Iron was sent down from the sky.
You too are an angel sent down from the sky,
And what you sing is like a holy verse.
Your hair is blue, like the skies,
Your voice is the sound of thunder, the sound of lightning.
Greetings to you,
O descended from the heavens,
Woman of iron.
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