Fire and İce

Bahtiyar Hidayet Azerbaijan

From the freezer

of a broken refrigerator

a sheep’s liver

from long ago

was found.

Like a historian

who has unearthed ancient fossils

deep within the glaciers,

the history teacher rejoiced.

With scholarly curiosity,

he searched once more

through the refrigerator’s «archive.»

But when he found out

he had to buy a new fridge—

on credit—

the history teacher grew sorrowful,

like a historian

whose archive had burned.

It was a miracle:

fire and ice,

together.

The ice had set fire to the history teacher’s liver.