Lutfiyai Bukhoroī (Prepared for publication by Angela Kosta)
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LUTFIYAI BUKHOROĪ
Lutfiyai Bukhoroī was born on December 14, 1976, in the Bukhara region, in a family of educators. She received her secondary education in her hometown and continued her studies at Bukhara State University, Faculty of Tajik Language and Literature.
After graduating from the university, she worked for many years as a teacher in secondary educational institutions and is currently serving as a deputy director at a kindergarten.
Her poems have been published in a number of domestic and international newspapers and magazines, including the magazine “Durdonai Sharq”, the newspapers “Ovozi Tojik” and “Khovar”, as well as the magazines “Sabzmanish”, “Lirov”, and others.
MOTHER — YOU ARE MY COMPASSION!...
You are the sun that brightens all my world,
You light the evenings of my soul untold.
After the Truth, so kind and full of care,
You ease my hardships, with a heart so fair.
If I should ever lose my way in life,
You are my guiding star, away from strife.
With hands raised high in prayer for me each day,
You open paths of joy along my way.
If darkness falls and covers all I see,
You are the dawn, the breath of light for me.
You drive away all troubles from my road,
O Mother, meaning of my every day bestowed!
MOTHER
At dawn, your face brings me the light of grace,
Its glow still lives in prayer I now embrace.
With just one prayer, you make my world reborn,
My strength and will from your own hands were born.
Though all have said: “The world is full of pain,”
Within your shadow, courage I regain.
Your prayer is like sweet wine within my days,
That’s why my strength stands tall in all my ways.
Though I don’t speak your name for all to hear,
They understand what light has brought me here.
May God protect you as long as worlds remain,
For mother is the secret of love so plain.
Behold, the world is fair and hearts are bright,
This pause in time is for your day of light.
* * *
O gentle morning breeze, now blow more soft and light,
Go to my beloved, make my love’s secret bright.
Blow not too harshly, do not disturb her morning sleep,
From longing, grant me hope — a promise I may keep...
Say “good morning” for me, deliver my heart’s plea there,
Place your lips upon her lips, speak my name with care.
Be tender and refined, so her heart feels no pain,
Caress her face and hair, a kiss from me sustain.
Return with urgency, bring me glad tidings true,
Bring news of her sweet kiss, let joy my soul renew.
O you, my imagined love, though distant is your kiss,
Your love’s wine is my breakfast — believe me in this!
Though love in this age, O Lutfia, may seem too late,
Without love, abandon life — do not accept that fate!...
***
Come, my love — for you the door of my heart stays open wide,
For all my life, both less and more, in your love does reside.
I’m weary of this restless storm — come, my love, take my hand,
I am yours; my heart with yours beats in a single strand.
All know that love has no concern for age or passing year,
Though time may rise upon me still, my heart longs without fear.
Come, cast away the sorrows of this weary world afar,
Let me rest upon your shoulder — my peace is where you are.
From every grief and worldly pain, I long to be set free,
Within your arms I find the place where truths and secrets be.
Hold me close and firm in your embrace, let burdens fade away,
Let sorrow be forgotten — with you my heart will stay.
If I should speak of all the noise and chaos of this land,
Seal my lips with just one kiss — my heart is open in your hand.
Beside you, all I feel becomes a fairytale so bright,
Be the hero of that world — where Lutfia’s grief takes flight.
Prepared for publication by Angela Kosta
