Built to standard. Crafted with soul.

(A Lyrical Free Verse for World Standards Day — October 14)
Standards make things work.
Soul makes life come alive.
October fourteenth.
A day when, somewhere, someone
quietly makes the world a little more reliable —
so we have time
to notice life's simple joys.
So a spoon rests comfortably in the hand,
a door opens without a fuss,
a light bulb turns on —
no drama, no mystery.
So the train runs on time,
the bridge holds firm,
and medicine works as it should —
not a game of chance.
So you can pour yourself a cup of tea,
sit by the window,
and for five whole minutes
fix nothing at all.
And may Baku smell of tandoor-fresh bread
and fragrant plov.
May the silver-haired aksakals nod in approval:
"Now that's good taste. That's how it should be."
May every home be warm
and peaceful —
not by the rulebook,
but by the heart.
Thanks to everyone
who does this invisible, painstaking work:
measuring, testing, fine-tuning —
so we can have
that quiet confidence:
"The world will hold together."
May what matters be tested,
what we don't need be set aside,
and what is genuine be preserved.
And we will live
by the heart's own compass.
It never consults a blueprint.
Sometimes it skips a beat,
sometimes it flutters without warning —
yet it knows what's real.
And if one day someone asks:
— Do you meet the standard?
Smile and reply:
— Mostly, yes.
My heart works without fail.
My conscience is still undergoing trials.
My sense of humor is not subject to certification.
And my soul was made to a one-of-a-kind design.
What matters is that it's alive and kind.
Happy World Standards Day!
Standards make the world reliable.
People make it warmer.
Technology helps us get things right.
Kindness keeps us from growing cold.
And perhaps the best standard for living is simple:
May everything that matters work as it should,
and everything alive
remain truly alive.
Alın Ak / KaJe MeG