A Bat and a Man
A bat could smile,
Bear a child and breastfeed
and also menstruate.
The bat really wanted
to laugh and weep
like a human being.
So the bat summoned a man
In a market fair
For a feast
And have an affair.
The bat treated the man
With a piece of her flesh.
And now
The bat knows
how to laugh and weep.
Her laughing sounds
Like a mourning
Her weeping sounds
Like a laughter
And is heard and spread
All over the world.
The cursed friendship
Sparkles in the sun.
Ўсаётган қанотлар
Уммонга ётаман, қўлларим – нажот,
Шунчалар зўрмидинг, кумушим осмон!
Ризқингдай жонимни кўтариб азот
Учириб келсанг-чи, чағалай-мезбон!
Кел, деюр олдимда чайқалган кема,
Олға сузмоқ учун уқувинг борми?
Айт: нени кўзладинг, аъмолинг нима,
Шиддатинг тўфон-у, шавқинг бисёрми?
Маъюсман. Тебратар жисмимни тўлқин,
Шодон балиқчалар қитиқлар товон.
Ногоҳ қароғимда чақнайди ёлқин,
Тафаккур жонланур, шуурим – равон!
Сузаман қуёшга етмоқ қасдида,
Такрорлаб ёд олган оятларимни.
Сезгум, ғичирлатиб курак устидан
Ўсиб чиқаётган қанотларимни!
I Am Not Alone
I am not alone
In giving away all my savings –
despite a homeless myself –
To a friend buying a house;
I am not alone
In receiving an award
From a foreign government
For the excellent service
To my motherland.
I am not alone
In being ignored
By those who envy me
And my passion to Life,
To Change
And Exchange.
Perhaps
I am the only one
Who
at the age of 45
Dreams of
Becoming a funny poet
with a beard and moustache
At the age of 50!
Am I not alone?
Мен сени излайман…
Эшик тақиллайди, очиқ ойнадан
Мудҳиш замонларнинг киргайдир иси!
Мушак ёғдусига чулғанар Ватан…
Тутқун – мен! Сен эса – навбатдагиси!
Ноҳақ эмас эрсанг, тик қўй овозинг!
Онанг, жигарпоранг кутмайин илҳақ –
Баҳорга дўндирсин аёзу ёзинг,
Ростлик чирмандасин чертибон тақ-тақ!
Юрак титрамасин эшик сасидан,
Жилмайиб олға юр! Нур бор, кет мотам!
Эркка очилган юрт бўсағасида
Мен сени излайман, эй Бутун Одам!
Farewell to Earth
Where is your forehead,
Mother Earth?
My Facebook friend
From Vietnam
Is taking me to his
Space Station
He has built in his blissful childhood.
With the same creation,
The same flesh
And even the same God
We are not working enough
To promote
The Exchange of Love:
My tears cannot extinguish
Big fires in Australia,
I cannot keep breathing anymore
Because of dying humans,
Animals and birds all over.
My friend told me
I will be the first poet
In his station,
So I can take some fellows to join
From elsewhere,
Including from Iraq,
North Korea,
Iran and U.S.
To foster our poorest exchange
And be able to cast
The Shadow of Peace
Over you –
Mother Earth.
You deserved all
Wonderful things
Existence could offer!
But I don’t deserve you.
So where is your forehead?
I want to kiss and thank you,
And say good-bye.
Исрофил, ҳуркитмай сурнайингни чал!
Исрофил, ҳуркитмай сурнайингни чал,
Ёлғонлар маҳв ўлсин, унсин чинлари!
Илғор ташаббус-ла уйғонсин жадал –
Кўзларини очсин, юрт ойдинлари!
Кенгликлар кутар, лек, мукофот, эъзоз,
Мадҳия – ҳаётнинг мундарижаси.
Тўрт девор ичинда машғул ва бесоз,
Қачон очилгайдур қалб даричаси?
Шижоат ухлаюр, мудрайди ғайрат,
Иблисми тебратар бешикларини?
Ҳассангизни беринг, Навоий ҳазрат,
Тақиллатиб чиқай эшикларини!
Исрофил, ҳуркитмай сурнайингни чал,
Кўзларини очсин, юрт ойдинлари!
Kurzbiografie
Azam Abidov, poet, translator, short short story writer, cultural adviser, was born on November 8, 1974 in Namangan, city of flowers, Uzbekistan. He trained in philology. He has several books of poetry and translation to his credit, including Tunes of Asia (English translation of contemporary Uzbek poetry), The Island of Anxiety (poems in Uzbek, English and Spanish), Dream of Lightsome Dawns, A Miracle Is On the Way and I Leave You in Complete Boredom. He also translated some ghazals and epic poem (‘Farhod and Shirin’) by Alisher Navoi, father of Uzbek poetry, into English. Azam also translated novels and short stories by famous Uzbek writers such as Erkin A’zam, Evril Turon and Salomat Vafo into English. Azam’s poems have been translated into more than 20 languages and published worldwide. He was a Creative Writing Fellow at the University of Iowa in the U.S. (2004) and a writer-in-residence at LCB in Berlin (2017). He attended poetry festivals, creative writing workshops and cultural events in over 20 countries. In collaboration with Uzbek poet Bahrom Ruzimuhammad, Azam compiled two international poetry anthologies, Fish and Snake and The Language of the Birds, involving hundreds of contemporary poets from around the world. He is also a World Poetry Movement’s coordinator of poetry events in Uzbekistan, and one of the founders of Maysara literary and cultural club at the Yudakov and Oybek House-Museums in Tashkent. In 2018, Azam launched the first-ever Writer/Artist Residency Program in Uzbekistan for foreign authors and artists (http://azamabidov.uz/?cat=29). Azam lives with his wife, journalist and poetess Nodira Abdullaeva, and with his three sons in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
