Boris Pak, “I am a warrior, your soldier, Uzbekistan!..”
The book's section «Поэты Узбекистана» opens with a poem by Boris Sensuevich Pak (the book gives no biography of him). The poem is written in the person of the lyrical hero, a soldier of the homeland: «Я – воин, твой солдат, Узбекистан!» He is proud to have been born a defender. Independence has made the country richer and more beautiful, and the world recognises it with respect. The hero lists the country's riches: white cotton clothes the world, silk is recognised as the best, there is oil and gas, but the greatest wealth is the hearts of people, their generosity. Laying the dastarkhan for a guest is a custom taught by fathers; the sound of the irrigation ditch is as melodious as maqom music. The hero guards peaceful labour, fields, villages, cities and steppes, and is against war: “war today will turn everything into ashes”. The last stanza is a vow: I keep a watchful guard on your borders, work in peace, you can rely on me. Structure: address («Узбекистан!»), the repeated «Я – воин!», enumeration (cotton, silk, oil, gas), antithesis (riches — a generous heart). Main idea: love of the homeland means peaceful labour and readiness to defend it.
“My country in four words”. Each student chooses four words about the country and finds a matching line in the poem; the lists are compared in class.