Baxsanow Beloved

Baxsanow

Intaan bukto jiifto oo
Bustaha iyo gogosha iyo
barkimo aay daashatoo
La soo booqdo aan ahaa
 
Intaan beer cadaaday oo
Biyaha iyo oonta iyo
Baadkii aan ka soomayoo
Bishmiyo dibmihii ka xedhay,
 
Intaan talo baah sanayad
Baandheeyey warkeedo
Buugiyo qorihii furoo
Baabkii noloshayada galay
 
Dadkoo badankii hordoo
Habeenkii uu badh tegay
Ayaan baasaha aduun
Layeesha hawlo badan.
 
Bariidadu waydhibtaa
Baashalkii waan kago’ay
Sidii aan bayr qaban 
Anigu baadiyoobayoo
Bananka wareegyaa
 
Beerkiyo wadanahuu degoo
Bariinsaday caashaqii
Boogtii uu igu dhigaan
Bulshada ka ilaaliya
Baal daaq ban keli la ahay
 
Budaydid iyo aragtidii
Bartii dhegaha iyo maqal
Basaasoo awadoo
Cidlay kaa baafiyaayoo
 
Intaan babbaca iyo dhagx
Burciidoo aad u kulul
Bacaadka lugeeyeyoo 
Cad ceeda baqoolayoo
Baraadli socod ku maray
 
Intaa bayhoofayoo 
Booramaha jiidhayoo
Biimayey naftayda oon
Dartaa bohlaha u galay
 
Dhamaan baalayda
Banjoogta ugaadhaiyo
Bulaale libaaxa iyo
Baraale shabeelkaiyo
Bahwyntii habar dugaag
Bankiyo aydaba la degey
 
Waxaan basan basanahay 
Basiirad kur kaygu yahay
Basaasta jidh kaygu qabo
Waxaa iga bin laha
Baxsanow waa argtidaa
 
Bogaa kuu oomanoo
Bawluhu dhiigii ma habo
Bishmuhu hadal way gabeen
Indhu bidhiqi day hayaan
 
Buruudkii inaan ragow
Badheedhah geesigow
Bildhalad kaandoortayow
Birr labtii en jabayan 
Bayaan baa loo xushaa
Ragaba kaan kala baxoow!!!!!
 
Waxaan ku badhaadhi laa
Busharada faraxaliyo
Bil khayr ii noqon lahaa
Naftani ku bogsoon lahayd 
Bidhaantaadoo qudhee 
Hadmaan baxsanow ku heli?
 

Beloved

Like a bedridden patient
unable to venture
beyond mattress and pillow,
forbidden anything but a visitor,
 
I burn inside.
I can’t imbibe water.
I can’t eat bread.
My lips have been sealed shut.
 
Many days I’ve bestowed
on battling with what’s best,
no page has been unturned
in a bid to find my fate.
 
Beyond, others slumber soundly
in the night’s blackness
but I engage in barren arguments,
bicker with each day’s events.
 
I find best wishes tasteless.
I can’t be pleased by social niceties.
I feel so phobic,
I like loneliness better,
ambling aimlessly through plains.
 
My heart belongs to him.
His love has beaten me.
I am under such bewitchment
I blanch at social gatherings,
I hold myself back.
 
My bearing and discretion,
all that’s visible and audible
has been blunted
as I beseech in the wilderness.
 
I walk the brutal stony land,
bear the burning heat of sand
and ramble about 
under the blasting sun
blind to my destination.
 
Many times I’ve been lost
and fallen into an abyss
risked my life in this bid,
got into bad situations.
 
All the winged birds,
brute animals, game animals,
the blond-coloured lion,
the blotched leopard,
the wider kin of wild beasts,
I settle with them in the open land and the bush.
 
The blows that I suffer,
the blues that hang over me,
the withering body
would be long gone 
O Beloved, with the sight of you.
 
I observe my thirst,
my heart not functioning as before,
my lips benumbed,
my eyes blinking.
 
You’re admired by men,
a brave hero.
Be my new moon –
unbreakable metal,
the desire of my being,
the best of all souls.
 
What comfort it would be 
to hear that bright news.
Such balm to welcome you,
to abate the anxiety –
to behold you.
When, Beloved, will that be?
 

Baxsanow

I feel burning inside 
No water can I drink
No food can I eat
My lips are tightly shut
 
Like enfeebled inpatient
Unable to go further than
The mattress and the pillow
Who is only allowed a visit
 
I have spent a long time 
Looking for the right decision
I turned every written page
In search of my fate
 
While others soundly sleep
In the midst of the night
I engage in futile discourse
Disputing with the tidings of the time
 
I find greetings tasteless
Socialisation I enjoy no more
So scary do I feel
And often prefer loneliness
Roaming aimlessly in the plains
 
He took possession of my heart
His love so overpowering
I am under such irresistible spell
I shy away from social gatherings
And keep to my own all the time
 
My direction and my discretion
My senses of hearing and seeing
Have been rendered blunt
Calling for you in the wilderness
 
I walk the harsh stony land
And bear the burning heat of sand
And loaf about 
Under the scorching sun
Mindless of my destination
 
Many are the times I got lost
And fell into pit holes
Risking my life in your pursuit
Getting into even insecure caves
 Humans I have shunned their company
And chosen the beasts in the bush 
Including the oryx and the kudus
The wild and the fearful
In the animal world
I find solace in their company
 
The hardships that I suffer
The misery seen over me
The withering of my frame
Would have long vanished 
With the pleasure of your sight 
 
Inward I feel the thirst
The heart fails to function as before
The lips are rendered speechless
And the eyes keep blinking
 
The pride of all men
The fearless hero
The dear of my choice
Unbreakable as steel
The desire of my soul
The preferred one of all men
 
How comforting it would be 
To hark the good news
 So soothing to welcome
So relieving the anxiety
To gain sight of you 
Is a bliss beyond compare
 

Original Poem by

Asha Lul Mohamud Yusuf

Translated by

Said Jama Hussein, Maxamed Xasan ‘Alto’ with Clare Pollard Language

Somali

Country

Somalia/Somaliland