Poems of Nazila Gultaj (Azerbaijan)

Nazila Gultaj is a member of the Azerbaijan Writers’ Union and a former recipient of a scholarship awarded by the President of Azerbaijan. She resides in Baku.
She is the author of the poetry collections “Love Written on Water” (2004), “Green Whisper” (2010), “From Heart to Lips” (2013), “Rain Drips from My Hands” (2021), “Do I Not Know My Heart?” (2006), and “Rain of Love” (2019, Ankara), as well as the novella and short story collection “Father of a Martyr.”
Her works have been published both in Azerbaijan and Turkey, appearing in literary magazines such as "Kardeş Kalemler"," Türk Edebiyatı" , "Bizim Ece", and" "Yaşam Sanat".
Nazila Gultaj has participated in numerous festivals and poetry events across many cities in Turkey, receiving honorary certificates for her contributions. She has also adapted poems and stories of several Turkish poets and writers into Azerbaijani Turkish.
As the director of the “Journey of the Heart” project, she was awarded the “San Yarlığı” prize by the International Foundation named after Mahmud al- Kashgari in 2017, in recognition of her achievements in promoting the literature of Turkic peoples in Azerbaijan and fostering literary connections.
Her poem “Map of Azerbaijan” won first place in a poetry competition.
In 2023, her novella and short story collection “Father of a Martyr” was published. The novella “Father of a Martyr” won a prize at the prose competition organized by the Dastanoğlu Foundation in honor of Yusif Səmədoğlu. In 2024, her short story “Last Lullaby” won a competition on the theme “Say No to Drug Addiction!” organized jointly by Ulduz magazine, the Ministry of Health, and the Center for Reforms.
 

 
MY LOVE
 
My love to you
İs a melting light
in my eyes.
It is a smell of a flower
striving for spring.
My love to you
İs a raindrop
dancing in the cloud of light.
My love to you
is God’s pray.
 
TILL MY
 
I shall search for you,
Like my lost delight,
Like a pearl fell from my eyes.
I shall search for you
For my fate,for my fortune-
Like the meaning of the life.
I shall stare at the ways
Till my eyes lose their light,
till grow old.
I shall keep my love,
Like a bird
The wings of which are broken,
The nest of which is destroyed,
Though its screams
Will hurt my heart.
 
I AND YOU
 
I and You
to my friend
You are
as sensitive as me,
you are as alone as me.
The flowers understand
the feelings of our hearts
I sing a song-
Which has never been
sung before.
You tell me a poem
Which has never been
told anybody.
The hopes can’t be lost
in the sea of flowers.
 
Translated by: Sevil Gulten


©® Nazila Gultaj