Mammad Araz - If There Were No War

Mammad Araz (full name Ibrahimov Mammad Infil oghlu) was a prominent Azerbaijani poet, a translator and a publicist. He was born on October 14, 1933, in the village Nursu of Shabuz rayon in Nakhchevan. He graduated from the Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute and then he went to his native village to teach at the secondary school. A year later he moved to Baku and worked in the editorial offices of Maarif Publication House in Baku, Ulduz (The Star) magazine (1967–1970),  Adabiyyat ve Injasanat (Literature and Art) newspaper (1970–1972) and Azerbaijan State Publication House (1972–1974). He also worked as an editor of  The Nature of Azerbaijan  magazine beginning in 1974.  Mammad Araz is also the author of the popular poem — The World is Yours, The World is Mine, the lyrics of which were used in a musical hit in the 1990s.

Mammad Araz - If There Were No War
If There Were No War

If there were no war,
we could build a bridge
between Earth and Mars
melting weapons in an open-hearth furnace.
If there were no war,
the harvest of a million years
could grow in one day.
Scientists could bring the moon
and stars to Earth.
The eyes of the general would say:
„I would be chairman in a small village
if there were no war! „
If there were no war,
we could avoid untimely deaths
and our hair would grey when it was time.
If there were no war,
we would face
neither grief, nor parting.
If there were no war,
the bullets of mankind would be our words,
and the main word of mankind would be love.