Quote by Nef'i: “My pen is a sword; whatever it cuts never grows back.”

Words, once written and made public, cause permanent changes — they cannot be unspoken or unseen. The power of writing is also its danger: unlike a spoken word, it persists and its effects cannot be reversed.

Nef'i wrote during the reign of Sultan Ahmed I and his successors in the early 17th century Ottoman Empire, a period of political tension and internal instability following the height of Suleiman the Magnificent's rule. His satirical pen targeted powerful figures and eventually cost him his life.

Ottoman Turkish poet born around 1572 in Erzurum, renowned for his satirical poetry and panegyrics and considered the master of the qasida form in Ottoman literature. His sharp satirical work Siham-i Kaza (Arrows of Fate) ultimately contributed to his execution by Sultan Murad IV.