Friend, when you visit cemeteries, don’t be afraid.
All the dead are Kyrgyz, and most of them you know.
Over here is Kerim. You knew him well.
And Karakoichu. Alym. Bekish. Sabyr. And the others . . .
You’d better kneel and recite the Quran.
Read to them with a pleasant voice. Call them by name.
After all, loyalty is a duty.
Respect your memories of them.
And when the time comes to join them,
know you’ve got a plot there too. And when
you’ve completely decomposed and left it empty,
who’ll bless you are your friends.
Munur Mambetaliev (born 1932) Kyrgyzstan
Translated by Yahya Frederickson and Gulzamira Mambetalieva
Source: World Literature Today
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