"Yenə o bağ olaydı" ("I wish it was that garden again") is perhaps the most famous poem by Mikayıl Müşfiq. This poem was written in the summer of 1936 in Pirşağı. Mikayıl could never have imagined that after writing this poem, he would face imprisonment, torture, and ultimately execution.
Many people might think that Mikayıl dedicated this poem to his wife, Dilber khanum. The identity of the recipient of the poem remained a mystery for a long time, but in the late 20th century, some speculations emerged.
The poem was actually dedicated to Arifə Məmmədxanlı, the sister of the writer Anvar Mammadkhanli. The garden Mikayıl longed for in the poem belonged to Anvar Mammadkhanli. Huseyn Javid, Ahmad Javad, Mikayıl Mushfig, and Rasul Rza would spend their summers in this garden.
In her last days, Arifa Mammadkhanlı confessed this to the writer and publicist Rafael Huseynov. A few years ago (in 1986), she had shared this secret with her sister Habiba khanum.
"One day, when I was returning from class, I ran into him near the Sabir garden. He said: 'Look, what a nice coincidence.' I still remember it well. He said: 'How good it is to see you. I have a poem for you.' He had it folded, a piece of notebook paper. He handed it to me, and I put it in my bag. Later, when I opened it, I saw that it was written at the top: "Arifəyə. Yenə o bağ olaydı" (To Arifa, "I wish it was that garden again").
I thought to myself, I wonder if he's writing about our garden in this poem. I read it, and everything that had happened in the garden was in that poem. I kept that poem for a long time.
When I got married, I had some letters from boys, but I tore them all up because I knew Ibrahim’s temper was quite harsh.
AzEns.az/ Jalya Orujeva