I LEFT…

I am a sorrowful book, a grief-laden tome,

With yellowed pages, in pain I roam.

Read by some, in silence, alone,

Yet by many—unread, unknown…

I forgave the days,

And many I forgave, step by step.

I lived, wrapping my worth in respect.

A golden chalice—filled to the brim,

Yet, doubting bronze, I spilled not a rim…

Though love turned cruel, drifting away,

Though friends stepped back, pushing astray,

Still, I held myself, come what may—

Grateful, on this path, I did not sway…

Shamsiya Khudoynazarova Turumovna (February 15, 1973) was born in Uzbekistan. Studied at the Faculty of Journalism of Tashkent State University (1992-1998). She took first place in the competition of young republican poets (1999). Four collections of poems have been published in Uzbekistan: “Leaf of the Heart” (1998), “Roads to You” (1998), “The Sky in My Chest” (2007), “Lovely Melodies” (2013). She wrote poetry in more than ten genres. She translated some Russian and Turkish poets into Uzbek, as well as a book by YunusEmro. She lived as a political immigrant with her family for five years in Turkey.