Poem - Who Am I..? Poetess - Munira Sulton (Uzbekistan)

 


Who Am I..?
Munira Sulton (Uzbekistan)

For a long time now,
I have been following myself—
so much so,
I can neither forget myself,
nor truly recognize who I am.
Otherwise,
how could the heart
have become so tightly clenched in a cage?
There’s no choice but to endure.

Strangers—who they are, who I am—
they sit across and speak of me,
while my heart pounds a secret code,
wiping away the scars time carved with one hand,
whispering to a future
wilting like a sugarcane shoot.
Like a smile forgotten,
like a chest gone rigid,
eyes stare still, unblinking.

As I watch, days follow days,
running fast,
carrying drops of tears,
gathering scattered dates,
alone,
sitting on the edge of my life,
devouring all the days left—one by one.

Who gave me the courage
to separate myself from me?
Following either mechanical or religious paths,
unable to embrace the society around,
while some wish for one’s destruction,
unable to tolerate it,
welcoming a spring that says time won’t come.

Every human heart is a Taj Mahal,
every hand holds a Vivekananda—
then why new waves of the ocean?
Why rivers overflow?
Why new births for infants
already carrying death’s news within the womb?

If you ask me about nights I do not know,
days I have not seen—how can I explain?
I swallow wings of dreams I cannot hide,
how can I describe the fragrance of earth?

Look there—the listener,
Krishna who made ‘illusion’ beautiful,
has gone to fully explain:
As long as humans exist on earth,
this sequence continues—
You only need to want to change yourself.



About the Poetess:
Munira Sulton (Eshonkulova Munira Rasulovna) was born on October 7, 1981, in the city of Bekabad, Tashkent region. In 1998, she graduated from School No. 11 in Bekabad with excellent grades. From 1999 to 2001, she studied at the Bekabad Pedagogical College. For 24 years, she has been dedicated to educating the young generation at School No. 45 in the Bekabad district. She is currently a fifth-year student at Gulistan State University.

She is married and the mother of three children.

In October 2021, her first poetry collection titled “QALBIMDASIZ” (“You Are in My Heart”) was published. Her poems have been featured in various collections such as “Turon Taronalari”, “Do‘rmon Durdonalari”, “Nazm Ifori”, “Barhayot Sohibqiron”, “Ganjiravon Yo‘llarida”, as well as in the book “Ona Tilim — Mangu Makonim” (“My Mother Tongue — My Eternal Homeland”) published by the Uzbek Language Development Foundation under the Cabinet of Ministers. Her works also appear in “Olimp Uzra Hilpirar O‘zbekiston Bayrog‘i” (“The Flag of Uzbekistan Flutters Over the Olympus”) published by the Writers’ Union of Uzbekistan.

Her poems have been published in the “Qardoshlik Uzilmas” almanac by the “Ijodkor” literary association under the “Dostlik” Uzbek Ethnocultural Center in Kazakhstan, and in numerous poetry collections and journals such as “Saboq”, “Targ‘ibotchi”, “O‘zbekistonda Ta’lim” (“Education in Uzbekistan”), “Guliston”, and “Gulxan”. Internationally, her poems have appeared in the UK’s “The Works of Talented Uzbek Creators”, Germany’s “Raven Cage”, America’s “International Literature Language and Online Journal”, “Women’s Literature Magazine”, “Friendship of People”, India’s “The Raft of Dreams” literary magazine, as well as in various prestigious newspapers published in fraternal republics and in her homeland, in Uzbek, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and English languages.

She is the winner of several international online poetry contests and a prizewinner of the national creative contest themed “Barhayot Sohibqiron”. For her active participation in the international online contest under the slogan “Two Brothers — One Soul” organized by Kazakhstan’s “Qos Qanat Jas Darynyqlardy Qoldau Jene Damu Qory” association, she was awarded the “FOR INTERNATIONAL SERVICES” badge of honor.

She was also awarded the “ISTE'DOD” (“Talent”) badge by the editorial board of “O‘zbekistonda Ta’lim” magazine. She is a member of the “Do‘rmon Club” under the Do‘rmon Creative House, a member of Kazakhstan’s “Qos Qanat” association, and a member of the “World Poets’ Solidarity” organization in Ispany.

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