Cajebey Amazement

Cajebey

Cajebey cajiibeey,
Cawo iyo ayaaneey,
Caqligaad xadaysaa,
Caku! barashadaadii,
Iyo caabuqaagee,
Sida faras cag fududoo,
Cadda-horor yaqaannoo,
Gulufkiyo colaadaha,
Ninka lihi cad-goostaa,
Raggu kuu cugtamayaa;
Anna caashaqaagaan,
Hadba weel u culayaa,
Cimri-dherer hadhkaagaan,
Riyo kula caweeyaa.
 
Dhulka oo cagaaroo,
Cosobkii dul-saarraa,
Isagaan car-jabin weli,
Cabbanaan daraaddeed,
Ciidda hoose raantiyo,
Kula ciiray fooddoon,
Cagta meel la saaroo,
La cuskado lahaynoo,
Calcalyada xareeddii,
Halka godan cuslaysiyo;
Fiid-cawl horraantii,
Cirka oo daruuruhu,
Midab wada cillaaniyo,
Ku dhigeen canjiidaha,
Xilli ay cadceeddii,
Dhar cashmiira xidhan tahay,
Sagal caasha saaraad,
La wadaagtey caanoo,
Haddaan caawo kale jirin,
Cidi kaama garateen!
 
Geed cal iyo buur dheer,
Carro-hodan ku yaalloo,
Cokanoo irmaanoo,
Dhirta kale ka caynoo,
Cimilada agtiisiyo,
Rugtu qurux ku caan tahay;
 
Dusha sare caleentii,
Laamaha is-celisoo,
Hoobaan casuus lihi,
Cartamayso dhinacyada,
Ubaxuna tin iyo cidhib,
Kaga dhigay cabbaadhyada;
Shimbiraha ka ciyayaa,
Intay heeso curiyeen,
Isku camal wareereen,
Dabadeeto carashada,
Markii laysku cayn go’ay,
Isu ciidan doonteen;
 
Halcabbaara goortay,
Isu calan-waleeyeen,
Cadho kala maqnaayeen,
Cadcaadiigsi geedkii,
Ciddiyaha ku qariyeen,
Codka luuqda heestiyo,
Carrabkoodu kala tegay,
Carcaraha is daba maray,
Cudur jirey ku baaba’ay;
 
Dhallin caana diiddoo,
Guryihii ka caagtiyo,
Cadraddiyo barbaartii,
Sida goob ciyaareed,
Ugu soo carraabeen,
Calaf waa halkiisee,
Hadallada cawayskaas,
Ku calmaday u badan tahay!
 
Carshigaa nasahan baad,
Biyo wada cabteenoo,
Haddaan lay cadaabayn,
Rabbi ii cadhoonayn,
Dadku inuu ku caabudo,
Madowgiyo caddaankuba,
Ku caleemo saaraan,
Sow kuma canaanteen!
 

Amazement

O dazzling darling:
happy happenstance and fair fortune
to you, mind mesmeriser –
since we became acquainted
you’ve been my only fever.
You’re like a light-footed charger
canny at midnight combat,
the fight by close engagement
where the rider takes revenge –
men constantly look keen.
I’m an empty pail that’s purified
by your love’s burning twigs;
every night I go out with
the dream of your long-held image.
 
When the green of the ground,
its surface fresh
and still unploughed,
when the brow of its growth bows
and it collapses under the weight
of its own bounty,
and there’s no space to plant a foot,
not even room to lean;
when just-fallen rain gathers
making the earth’s curves heavy;
when in the light red light of evening
the sky’s collecting clouds
the exact hue of henna
bearing the sun’s brand;
when the sun itself is clothed in
the very colour of cashmere,
when rain-promising rays hang on its neck:
your looks are cousin to all this
and who if not accustomed to it
could tell you two apart?
 
You’re that tree topping a tall mountain
rooted in fertile soil
sated with water and ready to give fruit;
its climate differing from
that of all other trees,
its setting renowned for its beauty,
its topmost canopy and branches
holding each other up;
its fruit so ripe and red
each roars to each on every flank;
and blossoming from hair to heel
like the lovely lines that ring the throat;
the birds chorusing
till all their songs
are intermingled,
then holding a song war -
singing themselves into a stalemate
and seeking reinforcements.
After a while, when each
waves feather flags to each,
anger driving them apart,
their claws digging crossly
in the bark of the tree,
the making of the melodies
straining their tongues,
they stray from the tunes
till the imbalance is corrected.
The young people too won’t eat
and refuse to go home,
unmarried girls hurry there
as though to a place of dancing,
young men too - maybe
they’re fated to marry,
chattering in the eager evening -
who would not choose you?
 
You share your nature with
this bliss-filled universe,
if God will not be angry
or throw me into Hell
I would compel
the people to worship you,
let both black and white
crowd to crown you now!
 

Amazement

Hey, you! Amazed beauty filled with wonder
Hey, you! Having luck and unexpected good fortune
Enchanting and delighting the mind,
Huh! Getting to know you
And the infection of your love is fairly devastating.
 
Like a fast speeding horse
Well experienced for the full moonlight offences
Carrying out an attack against enemy forces
With its owner riding takes revenge against the armed adversaries,
Men are showing approval and well disposed towards you;
Again and again I’m preparing myself
(I’m purifying a milk-vessel by burning twigs inside it)
The love I have for you,
And for a long period of time I socialize in the evenings
With reoccurring dreams about you and your images.
 
The ground been green and pleasant
And its fresh growth keeps on top
Not yet lost its newness,
And because of being incapable of holding
It staggers down to the soil
With its lock of hairs and forehead,
No space to put one’s foot
And no space to lean on,
Where sharply curved spaces exist
Rainwater pooled on the ground makes it heavy,
Early in the evening twilight
A reddish orange colour altogether
Written on it an identifying brand,
A time when the sun
Dressed up with cashmere colour clothes
Whose dewlap hanged over the sagal (rays of light which indicate distant rain)
You bear a physical resemblance to it (You shared milk with it),
If other habitual practice never existed
No one would have been able to differentiate you from tonight's scenery.
 
A tree at a green bare-topped hill
Situated in a prosperous and fertile soil
Sated with water and causing to flourish
Different from other plants
The weather conditions prevailing in the surroundings
And the habitat famous for its natural beauty,
The leaves on the top of the tree
And the branches support each other and prevent from falling,
Ripe fruits with reddish colour
Making roaring sound at the sides,
And from tip to toe
Was taken all over by a storm of flowers,
While the birds rest on top of the branches
Sang and made melodious songs
In a restless manner
And later exchanged playful tunes
When finished the contest with an even score
Each needed to call extra reinforcement.
 
Shortly afterwards when
Away for a while from one another because of annoyance,
And calling to arms against each other
Overtly expressing their mood on the tree
Concealing the nails to the branches crevices,
The musical vocalizations of the song sang in harmony
Their vibrating tongues and the loudness of the overtones,
The freshness and the full energy of the voices rising to a high pitch
This has automatically removed the shadow of suspicion.
 
Youth refraining from drinking milk
Abstaining from going home at the end of the day,
The unmarried girls and the young adult men
Flocked into a mass to the sites
Of open air festive space of folk dances,
Though future destiny is predetermined,
The words expressed at the dance that takes up in the evening,
Mostly is: ‘You are the one I’ve chosen!’
 
This easy-going epoch we live in
With it you share a distinguishing feature of your personal nature,
If hereafter Allah will not torment me in the Hell Fire
And God does not get angry,
I would have compelled the people
To express reverence and show devotion toward you
And give you honour by both blacks and whites
Crown you as the queen of beauty.
 

This is one of Hadraawi’s most popular love songs, perhaps because it goes so much further than many similar poems of the time in that it is concerned not only with the physical attractiveness of the beloved, but also uses nature as a rich source of metaphor to describe her loveliness.

Here’s a link to a recording of the much loved singer, Maxamed Saleebaan Tubeec, singing ‘Amazement’. Sadly, he passed away in Germany on 12th March 2014. He was a great singer loved by many Somalis.

Original Poem by

Maxamed Ibraahin Warsame ‘Hadraawi’

Translated by

Said Jama Hussein, Maxamed Xasan ‘Alto’ with W N Herbert Language

Somali

Country

Somalia/Somaliland