In my hands it lingers like a final breath,
A cage flung open on a scrap of page.
Dildora Khojyozova
Dildora Khojyozova, born in 2005 in the Khorezm Region, Uzbekistan, is a geography student at the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at Urgench State University. Actively engaged in both academic research and literary writing, her works focus on the ecosystems of the lower Amudarya basin and ecotourism development, alongside poetry and essays published in international literary journals and platforms.
Echoes of the Cage
In my hands it lingers like a final breath,
A cage flung open on a scrap of page.
Has the world grown this suffocating narrow,
Leaving no room left to learn the trade of breath?
I search for myself in unfamiliar eyes,
Drifting lost among the tracks left behind.
Could a single drop of words born from the heart
Wash away the dust from forgotten faces?
This boundless sky no longer fits my chest,
All my suspicions linger without an answer.
Every street sinks deep into a heavy silence,
While only the restless shadows stay awake all night.
The stars shed their secret tears in the dark,
And the roads of truth feel endlessly steep.
To whom can I even pour out this pain at last,
Now that my words have turned to destiny?
The final candle of memory flickers low,
Leaving a silent sob at the bottom of the soul.
I search for you everywhere, yet find you nowhere—
Just how eternal is this parting after all?
***
Inner Echo
Tell the winds to gather my words,
Let them leave the sand-hidden footsteps in peace.
Every night is a page torn from a life,
Who else could untie the knot in my heart?
The sky is quiet, the stars wide awake,
While I still cannot quite reach myself.
Someone leaves without a single backward glance,
Someone stays, holding a thousand questions.
Only paper remains in black ink,
Only the night knows the pain in the soul.
The world hurries, everyone on their own path,
And I am still searching for that steadfast soul…
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