Uzbek Girl

No! We will not continue
Our fathers' war.
Tamerlane* has died centuries ago
And the bard of Shiraz* too
Who gave Samarkand and Bukhara
For the sake of a beauty mark.

This Uzbek girl in California
Has no mark on her forehead
And she speaks Uzbek with a Russian accent.
But there is a scent in her words
Which brings us together
From many ages ago
Because in her own language
She uses Persian words
For "flower", "greens" and "spring"
And celebrates Noruz*
As I do.

I tell her that my ancestor Nafis
Went from Kerman to Samarkand
To become the physician of Ulugh Beg*.
She removes the empty bowl of borsch from the table
And puts a rich colored tea near my hand
With a piece of rock candy,
And I don't know if in return
I should give her Los Angeles
Or San Francisco.

August 30, 2013
Majid Naficy

- Tamerlane was a Turko-Mongol conqueror of Iran and other countries in the fourteenth century. Today he is considered the national hero of Uzbekistan.
- Hafez of Shiraz was a great Persian poet in the fourteenth century. In one of his lyrics he says: "If a Turk of Shiraz gains my heart / I will give her Samarkand and Bukhara for the sake of her Hindu mole." It is said that when Tamerlane conquered Shiraz he summoned Hafez and asked him: "Why did you give my capital Samarkand for a mole?" Hafez answered: "I showed such generosity that I became so poor!" The conqueror laughed and rewarded the poet lavishly.
- Noruz or Persian New year is celebrated by Iranians and many other peoples in the beginning of spring.
- Ulugh Beg was the grandson of Tamerlane.

Majid Naficy was born in the Iranian city of Isfahan. A poet and political activist, he studied at Tehran University and UCLA.

Poem from National Pulse

Biographical info from Virtual Venice