ئەگەر كېرەك بولسا

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ئەگەر كېرەك بولسا | Eger kérek bolsa | If Needed

كېرەك بولسا بىرقانچە پاي ئوق، \ ئات مېنى، يۈرىكىم بار پارتلايدىغان |
Kérek bolsa birqanche pay oq, / At méni, yürikim bar partlaydighan. |
If bullets are what you need, / shoot me, I have a heart that explodes.

By Muyesser Abdulehed (Hendan)
Translated from Uyghur by Munawwar Abdulla and Muyesser Abdulehed (Hendan)

Efvan

Poetry | East Turkistan, Spring Will Come, Uyghur, death, defiance, desperation, poetry, translation
March 22, 2023

The following poem and its translation are part of the Spring Will Come notebook, with art by Efvan.

ئۇيغۇرچە

Uyghur

English

ئەگەر كېرەك بولسا ساڭا بىر دەرەخ،
تىكەي ئۆزۈمنى تۇپرىقىڭغا.
ئەگەر كېرەك بولسا ساڭا بىر بالا،
مەن قايتىپ بېرەي بالىلىقىمغا.
ئىزدىدىڭمۇ ياشانغان ئانا؟
ئاقباش ئەتەمدىن ئېپ كېلەي ھاسا…

قۇرىغان كۆللىرىڭ چاڭقىغان بولسا،
كۆزلىرىمدەك تۆكۈلۈپ بېرەي،
يۇتسۇن مېنى قارا بۇلۇتلار.
سولغان گۈللىرىڭ دەرد ئېيتقىنىدا
قانىغان تىلىمدا سۇغىرىپ بېرەي،
ماڭا چىرماشسۇن زەھەرلىك ئوتلار.

كېرەك بولسا بىرقانچە پاي ئوق،
ئات مېنى، يۈرىكىم بار پارتلايدىغان.
كۈرەشكە مەيدان ئېچىلغان بولسا،
.‪بوينۇم بار ئۆلۈمنى ساقلىمايدىغان

‪ئەگەر بەدەل بولسا ساڭا مىليون جان‬،
.‪ئاچ ئىشىكىڭنى، سانىۋالسۇن ياۋ

Eger kérek bolsa

Eger kérek bolsa sanga bir derex,
Tikey özümni tupriqinggha.
Eger kérek bolsa sanga bir bala,
Men qaytip bérey baliliqimgha.
Izdidingmu yashanghan ana?
Aqbash etemdin ép kéley hasa…

Qurighan kölliring changqighan bolsa,
Közlirimdek tökülüp bérey,
Yutsun méni qara bulutlar.
Solghan gülliring derd éytqinida
Qanighan tilimda sughirip bérey,
Manga chirmashsun zeherlik otlar.

Kérek bolsa birqanche pay oq,
At méni, yürikim bar partlaydighan.
Küreshke meydan échilghan bolsa,
Boynum bar ölümni saqlimaydighan

‪Eger bedel bolsa sanga milyon jan‬,
Ach ishikingni, saniwalsun yaw

If Needed

Let me plant myself for you
If a tree is what you need.
Let me return to my childhood
If a child is what you need.
Are you looking for an elderly mother?
I will bring you a cane from my white-haired tomorrow.

If your empty lakes become parched,
let me fall like my tears,
may the gray clouds swallow me.
When your withered flowers air their grief,
let me water them with my bleeding tongue,
may the poisonous grass entangle me.

If bullets are what you need,
shoot me, I have a heart that explodes.
If the field is set for battle,
I am ready to face death.

If your price is a million lives,
open your door, let the enemy count.

Muyesser Abdulehed (Hendan) is a poet, writer, and educator. A native of Ghulja in the north of East Turkistan, Muyesser completed a medical degree at Beijing University, followed by a master’s in University of Malaya. After relocating to Turkey in 2013, she resolved to focus on writing and teaching Uyghur language. Her debut novel, Kheyr-khosh, quyash (Farewell, Sun) is the first work of fiction to focus on the internment camps in East Turkistan.

Munawwar Abdulla is an Uyghur advocate, poet, and scientist born on Kaurna land and based in Massachusetts. She co-founded The Tarim Network, runs Uyghur Collective, and collaborates on projects with Uyghur rights organizations around the world. Her writings and literary translations have been published in places such as Cordite Poetry Review, Modern Poetry in Translation, Asymptote, and others.