Don’t hide. Stay! Who are you, and where are you from,
beautiful, unfortunate refugee?
Please smile, and let the light shine from your eyes.
In every mood, you are an angel, refugee.
The night holds your long curly hair, when it falls into your lap.
Your eyes are tender, your face like a blossom, long and thin.
You enchant my soul when you smile.
You are the shy doe of the mountains, refugee.
I want to laugh and smile my life away with you.
Tell me, what are your worries? Tell me your story.
Mercy, what happened? How did you fall
so far from your homeland?
When I saw you, I fell apart.
I fell for you like a drunk.
I am, like you, an exotic bird, an outlander.
Come with me, with your wounded soul, refugee.
Huseyn Javid (Azerbaijani: Hüseyn Cavid), born Huseyn Abdulla oglu Rasizadeh (24 October 1882, Nakhchivan – 5 December 1941, Shevchenko, Tayshetsky District), other spellings "Husein Javid," was a prominent Azerbaijani poet and playwright of the early 20th century. He was one of the founders of the progressive romanticism movement in contemporary Azerbaijani literature. He was exiled during the Stalin purges in the USSR.
Murad Jalilov has recently graduated with BAs in English and Political Science at Emporia State University and is a graduate student in the MA program in Russian and Eastern European Studies at University of Oregon. He has poems published in Quivira and is active in his literary community. He is fluent is Russian, Azerbaijani, Turkish, and English.
Poet Laureate of Kansas (2017-2019), Kevin Rabas teaches at Emporia State University, where he leads the poetry and playwriting tracks. He has seven books, including Lisa’s Flying Electric Piano, a Kansas Notable Book and Nelson Poetry Book Award winner.