1. This brother of yours is outstanding,
Surpassing all description,

2. For he is a true brother,
While others are brothers in name only.

3. Oh my eyes, weep plentiful tears
And mourn the loss of our aged Akdish,

4. Whom starvation took for no reason
Other than disease or pain.

5. He persisted rummaging through trash
Until he died of nasal tumors and catarrh.

6. How many battles have I fought with him
And startled awake from nightmares of war!

7. He hoped to flee all who rode
To battle, and was no coward.

8. He was my support in times of weakness,
Until time itself grew infirm and blind.

9. In the stable yard you can see him
Searching refuse and trash heaps like a dormouse.

10. He died at ninety, aged and deaf,
Bent and blind.

11. I weep for days gone by,
To keep my vow, though vows are fleeting.

12. A friend weeps for a friend—
As they say, people are judged by their friends.