Aziz Isa Elkun
When the Spring flower daffodils open shyly
When the nightingale lands in my garden to sing
When apricot trees wear veils of white blossom
I say to my long awaited Spring, you must come today.
When the frosty sky gives birth to the warm sun
When the migrating crane flies away to seek the Spring
When Zaynap* misses her lover with longing
I say to my long awaited Spring, you must come today.
On a morning when the sun shines its bright smile
Why are our hearts gloomy and full of longing
I would be happy to be a Spring bud growing
I say to my long awaited Spring, you must come today.
When the wheat seedlings begin to grow in the field
When the poplar which my father planted gives blossom
When the hoopoe begin to arrive and build their nests
I say to my long awaited Spring, you must come today.
The journey of life is renewed every year in Spring
The soul that was frozen and cold begins to warm up
The spirits of the Uyghurs come to life in the Nowruz games
I say to my long awaited Spring, you must come today.
The skylarks praise the missing Spring in the Tarim
Tear drops from the eyes of the frozen Heaven Mountains
Every plant in the homeland sheds tears for the winter
I say to my long awaited Spring, you must come today.
Because I am in love, I always call for Spring to come
I say to the dark winter never, ever return!
Every day I send my passionate love to the homeland …
I say to my long awaited Spring, you must come today.
When the separation of love reaches a peak
When I miss my mother’s Nowruz food
When Elkun’s heart burns every year in Spring
I say to my long awaited Spring, you must come today!
6th March 2017, London.
Listen to poem in Uyghur:
http://www.azizisa.org/elkun_poem/Baharim_seni_kel_didim.mp3
Read the original version of this poem in Uyghur language:
http://www.azizisa.org/Baharim_seni_kel_didim.
Read this poem in as an image:
http://www.azizisa.org/elkun_poem/I_ask_spring_to_come.jpg
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* Zaynap – is a female cuckoo, and Kakkuk is the male cuckoo in Uyghur folklore. Uyghurs believe that when cuckoos travel to find the Spring from the south, they were separated by a sudden storm, then the female cuckoo Zaynap eventually found the place where Spring had come, but she lost her lover Kakkuk. Since then in the oasis of the Taklamakan, the female cuckoo misses her lover and always calls his name, Kakkuk. So in Uyghur belief, the cuckoo’s call represents the arrival of Spring.