Gunaad The Scab

Gunaad

In dhoweydba gabaygii ma gelin, kala-gurkiisiiye
Googgooskiyo masafaadka iyo, guurow lagu heeso
Geeraarka maansada ma furin, gebiba suugaane
Murti gaawe lagu soo shubana, waan ka gaabsadaye,
Doc markaan gufeeyaba mid kalaa, galow ka yeedhaaye
Aan godaalsho caawoo kalaan, gorofka buuxshaaye.
 
Garrida iyo dhoobada markuu, Guulle naga uumay
Ee gibilkii Nebi Aadan iyo, Xaawa naga gooyey,
Tolow geedka yaa xaadhay ee, gurada kuu raaray,
Gadhwadeen ku yidhi waa tihiyo, lamaba gaadhaanka?
Gudcur talada lagu goostay baan, guulo lagu hayne,
Is garwaaqso Soomaaliyeey, garashadaa beene!
 
Geeshkaa dhanee nala degaa, gooni loo xidhaye
Godob aan la sababaynnin baa, guudka loo sudhaye,
Waa guuldarriyo hoog dhibkaan, laga garaabayne
Taariikh gurracan weeye oon, geesna qabanayne,
Odayada nabsiga soo galee, wali ku gaashaaman
Guntintay xidheen baan rabaa, inaynnu goynaaye.
 
Gunaad raagay weeyiyo hurgumo, gogosha noo taalle
Haddaynnaan gilgilashada xumaha, gacanta loo taagin
Innaguna garaad yarida taal, waa la gelaynaaye,
Odayada nabsiga soo galee, wali ku gaashaaman
Guntintay xidheen baan rabaa, inaynnu goynaaye.
 
Ummaddan gooni loo riixayee, geeska lagu feedhey
Guhaadday qabaan baa qalbigu, ila gariiraaye
Gaar loo faaquuqay naftani, hibasho goohdaaye
Gujadaa qanjaha laga geshaan, gama’ la diidaaye
Gardarrada dadkaa lagu falaan, gabax ilmeeyaaye,
Odayada nabsiga soo galee, wali ku gaashaaman
Guntintay xidheen baan rabaa, inaynnu goynaaye.
 
Soomaalay gob iyo waa gun iyo, kala gurkaad sheegtey
Gadh madoobahaad ciishay iyo, gabannadaad dooxday
Ganbooleyda aad baacsatiyo, gu’rintirkaad reebtey
Gashaantimaha guur beeley waa, gumaro kuu taalle,
Odayada nabsiga soo galee, wali ku gaashaaman
Guntintay xidheen baan rabaa, inaynnu goynaaye.
 
Aan gunaanadkii mariyo iyo, hadal guddoonkiise,
Waa giraan wareegaysa oo, dunidu waa guure
Hadhka labada gelin weeye oo, galabba waa cayne
Gabooyuhu guddoonshuu ahaan, gaadha meel sare’e
Geeddiga mar uun buu ku furi, guri barwaaqaade
Guushka iyo malabkuu ka guran, godammadeenniiye
Geelaa u dhaliyoo mar buu, gaaxda laba maali,
Insha Allaahu Guullaan baryee, way u geli maalin.
 
London, 2009
 

The Scab

Recently I haven’t recited gabay, I can’t grapple with it;
the task of intoning, chanting masafo and guurow.
I’ve not recited geeraar, not any of the canon,
I’m not prepared to give you a poem which is a half-empty milk-vessel
full of unsealable holes.
Let me gift my opinions with concision and clarity:
 
when Allah formed man from the dust of the ground,
made Eve and the prophet Adam, from whom we were begotten,
O my kin, who swept the grubby earth under the tree and gave you a crown?
Who said you are a leader of high caste granted privilege?
Decisions made in the darkness never meet with success.
O Somalis get a grip, you have been convinced by a lie!
 
A section of our society lives amongst us segregated.
Gall and indignation seeps from this mistreatment,
this ghastly condition, and disasters show no sympathy.
History is twisted, our grotesque deviation lacks reason.
The older generation turns grief into fate, guards the cruelty of caste.
Let’s get this complex knot untied.
 
It is an old, hardened scab from a gash, an infection awaiting remedy.
If we don’t feel disgusted, or hesitate before malignant deeds,
if we don’t gainsay it, we’re complicit.
The older generation turns grief into fate, guards the cruelty of caste.
Let’s get this complex knot untied.
 
People have been set apart, gravely bullied.
My heart beats angrily, is crushed with gloom at this unfairness.
It grinds in my mind, how they were pushed away.
I can’t sleep for thinking about punched jaws.
In a gaping space I weep for their grim treatment.
The older generation turns grief into fate, guards the cruelty of caste.
Let’s get this complex knot untied.
 
Somalis, you profess belief in the noble gob and the lower caste gun,
those black-beards angered over the children you disemboweled.
You goad their married women, brutally rape them, get them pregnant.
Their women of marriageable age are too low-grade for you.
The older generation turns grief into fate, guards the cruelty of caste.
Let’s get this complex knot untied.
 
Summing up my argument and dedication to this cause:
no one lives forever. The world is a fleeting glory.
Just shadows, which shift all day: shape, size, where they’re going.
The Gabooye will one day rise in status,
their destiny will be peace and growth; strength under great pressure.
They will gather honey and supple leaves in our low-lands.
Their female camels will give birth, udders groaning with milk.
They shall overcome hardship one day, God willing.
 
London, 2009
 

Hardened Scab from a Wound

Recently I have not made myself ready for consideration to deal with reciting gabay
Performing the task to intone and chant masafo and guurow
I do not recite geeraar or say aloud the whole of poetry or prose
I refrain from having an affair with the essential point of literature been poured out into a large container for milk
When I steadily plug a hole on one side then another position needs to been filled
Let me express my personal opinion in a very concise and forceful way and make it known to others. [Lit. Let me stimulate and move the domestic animals to been milked and fill into milk can.] When Allah, the giver of victory, formed man from the dust and clay of the ground
And made us the descendants of Prophet Adam* and Eve from which we have evolved,
O kinsmen, who swept the floor under the tree by brushing away the dirt and ceremonially placed a crown on your head,
Who said to you that you are a leader and a man of high caste who inherited exclusive privileges?
Decisions made in the darkness and kept secret never bring to a successful outcome,
O Somalis realize your mistakes that your good judgement and wisdom is in question! A wider section of our society living amongst us being segregated
A persistent feeling of ill will and bitter indignation resulting from mistreatment deprived their natural rights
It is unfortunate condition and disaster not been sympathetic towards their difficult situation
It is unconventional history and strange deviating from the common course in opinion lacking a clear reasoning,
The older generation that inflicted pain and suffering on others and still protecting the unpleasant experience
We want to untie their fastened complicated knot limiting to a particular situation. It is a long-lasting hardened scab from a wound and an infection that wait us all to be resolved
If we don’t address the problem and cause to feel disgust and hesitate to accept the objectionable evil deeds
If we do not oppose it, we become a part of these irrational feelings of hostility and unpardonable sin,
The older generation that inflicted pain and suffering on others and still protecting the unpleasant experience
We want to untie their fastened complicated knot limiting to a particular situation. The bullied and intimidated people that has caused to set apart from the rest of the society
My heart beats so forcefully and crushes with sorrow because of the bitter indignation at having been treated these people unfairly
It is disturbingly present in my mind the way they were been pushed away and shut them out
I’ve trouble sleeping at night because of the way they were treated punched in the lower jaws
In an open empty space, I wept bitter tears because of the unjust treatment of these people,
The older generation that inflicted pain and suffering on others and still protecting the unpleasant experience
We want to untie their fastened complicated knot limiting to a particular situation. Somalis, as you have professed your belief that you have nobles (gob) and people of lower caste (gun)
The black-bearded gun adults that you have made resentful for inflaming their feelings and the young children you have disemboweled
You pursued to harass with obsessive attention to their respectable married women whom brutally raped and had become pregnant
There are many unmarried women of marriageable age and you do tend to have more blameworthy of it,
The older generation that inflicted pain and suffering on others and still protecting the unpleasant experience
We want to untie their fastened complicated knot limiting to a particular situation. Summing up of the main points of my argument and the state of being dedicated to the cause,
No one lives forever and the world we are in is a transit place
It is like the shadows, which change, through the day and not exactly similar in shape, size and direction
The Gabooye will one day rise and become a leading figure highest in status
Their predestined end will be peace and prosperity and will be able to withstand pressure and overcome their odds
They will collect honey and pick dry leaves that are still fresh and supple in our low-lying country
All their female camels will give birth and they will have an accumulation of milk in the udder of their animals milking twice a day,
I pray that one day they shall overcome all the difficulties and achieve the desired aim, God willing.
 
 

Original Poem by

Asha Lul Mohamud Yusuf

Translated by

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

Somali

Country

Somalia/Somaliland