Work

• Gabdulla Tukay Admonition 

  If you see a beggar approaching your door, Be merciful to him, his needs do not ignore. You are no different – we are all great Allah’s slaves, This man begs for your mercy, a crust of bread he crav...

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• Gabdulla Tukay Tatar Youth 

  I am really proud of our Tatar youth. I like the way they learn, discovering the truth. Their thoughts are so inspiring, deep and bright, Talented young people – what a joyful sight! This generation...

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• Gabdulla Tukay Advice 

  My dear friend, please listen to my advice: Conceal your secrets, or you’ll pay a price. Your tears, grief and laughter you should hide. Your soul’s a treasure box, your greatest source of pride. Ho...

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• Gabdulla Tukay Fame

  Fame and glory is not why poetry you write, Don’t hide your soul, leave it in full sight. Stop complaining, humbly suffer through your pain. There’s more to talent than prominence and fame. 1913...

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• Gabdulla Tukay It’s a holiday!

  The world is joyful and merry today, People have gathered for their holiday. Everybody here is jubilant and gay, A young man strums the saz – it’s a holiday! The sun in the sky wears its festive atti...

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• Gabdulla Tukay My Native Tongue 

  Oh, my native tongue, there is no other Like the one spoken by my father and mother. Whatever I have learned since when I was young It is all thanks to you, my sweet native tongue. My first words to...

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• Gabdulla Tukay Autumn 

  Look around, my friends, autumn is here, And winter in its white cloak is already near. The birds are moving southward, flying far away, They have a better place where it is safe to stay. The forest...

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• Gabdulla Tukay To a Disgraced Tatar Girl 

  You stand alone, from your friends apart. I feel your pain and moan, it breaks my heart. Yellow like parchment is your grieving face, With desperation filled and torment of disgrace. Like a discarded...

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• Gabdulla Tukay Two Suns 

  The earth lights up when the sun its journey starts. When Sahibjamal appears on stage, she wins her people’s hearts. The Creator has given these two such a magnificent glow, While the Sun shines in t...

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• Gabdulla Tukay Bitter Plight  

  I wonder what would happen if I wasn’t born at all? Poison seals my fate, forsakes my wretched soul. My life goes by in circles, year after year, I suffer through the winter, till summer’s heat gets...

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• Gabdulla Tukay Man in Love 

  When a lad is cheerful, joking all the time, There should be something he intends to hide. His love he is concealing, this miserable liar, No smoke to see around, but he’s indeed on fire. Cheerful a...

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• Gabdulla Tukay Lament

  We all are so sinful, vile and spoiled inside. Captured by corruption, in evil we abide. Cherishing wrong values, not willing to repent, We sell our souls for nothing, not even for a cent. Filthy we...

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• Gabdulla Tukay I Will Not Sell Out

  A sacred work for people was to you assigned. But then a bunch of fiends entrapped your mind. They said you must adjust to this imperfect age, Unless against its rules you plan a war to wage. This tr...

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• Gabdulla Tukay Evening Wish 

  The light in the flickering lamp is about to expire, I have a burning ember in my breast, my thoughts are dire. I better hurry up with my poem – the lamp is out of oil, Not sure what I wrote makes se...

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• Gabdulla Tukay Recollections

  Life in paradise – that’s what Iblis recalls when he is tired, I am tired of myself, I wish I was again a child. Those days my soul, like water in the creek, was fresh and clear, Green as the shoot...

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