Posts in "Uyghur poets"

Blessing

Poet Adil Tunyaz’s photo, in his flat in Urumchi on 27 August 2021. Photo by A. I. Elkun

Adil Tunyaz*
Translated by Aziz Isa Elkun

Dedicated for A.I

Finally we met
First on the phone –
Then as fast as before dusk falls
A red taxi parked next to us
Left no trace of misery,
But a thorn was left in our tongue…

Your blessing belongs in a foreign language
Your two daughters as white as snow
And they have no worries
They flew with English language for a while
With their semi-transparent wings.

They have fallen down
Into the Uyghur language –
That language that God blessed
There is a sky underneath, and its top covered tight
Its meaning forever and the letters can reach.

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The heart



Let’s not blame life for being meaningless
One day loneliness will reach its peak
Even if we can’t find a way to achieve our desire
We can still shed silent tears.
 
Let’s cry, maybe our tears will be beautiful
If they are shed silently for love
Even if we’re always looking for bad luck
We’re lucky when every night turns into a dream.
 
Let’s not seek beauty only in the rose
The trace of blood left on the thorn is also beautiful
When we think of the heart pumping blood
Its beating is just like a sweet song.
 

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Let Sayragul sing!

Aziz Isa Elkun

About the poem:
this poem is dedicated to the courageous Sayragul Sauytbay, an ethnic Kazakh from East Turkistan. She was arrested in May 2018, after crossing into Kazakhstan illegally, and in a court hearing, she gave testimony about the re-education camps in East Turkistan (Xinjiang). She has bravely spoken to the outside world about China’s “Concentration Camps.” 

When it was written:
On 1 August 2018, after arriving at Almaty airport from London, the first good news I heard was Sayragul Sauytbay’s release from detention after the Zharkent court hearing. 

Sayragul, let the Kazakh girl sing – sing, Sayragul
Sayragul, let her sing for her country – sing, Sayragul
Sayragul, let her sing for justice – sing, Sayragul
Sayragul, never stop her song – sing, Sayragul!

You are a voice for the voiceless – sing, Sayragul
You are a freedom fighter – sing, Sayragul
You are an envoy for freedom – sing, Sayragul
You hover like an eagle – sing, Sayragul!

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