1,8 •each poem line by line, but due to the vast structural
differences between the two languages, I have not attempted
to reproduce the artistic effects of Somali alliteration and
rhythmic patterns in the English translations. Neverthe-
less, I have endeavoured to preserve the imagery of the
original, without embellishments or omissions, even when
this made the use of annotations necessary. I have also
annotated all the references and allusions which I thought
would be obscure to the non-Somali speaker.Occasionally, I have come across some line which,
when translated into English, needed to be restructured In
order to make the translation flow smoothly and convey the
full meaning of the original. In such instances, I have
employed a technique by which I have transposed the lines
which needed to be shifted from one position to another;
and in , doing so, I have indicated the change by putting
the original number of each line at the end of it, in
parenthese~. Moreover, I have taken a few examples of
poetry from published works; and whenever I have done
this, I have kept the numbering of the original sources;
that is to say, if a quotation is taken from the middle
of a poem, it keeps its original numbers, and if it is
taken from the beginning it starts with the initial number~.Both the numbers of the poems and those of the lines are
given at the end of such quotatIons.. 'I
In addition to that there was a problem which arose
when dealing with the translation of some Somali phrases.
The most common of these phrases are Eebbahay 'my God' and
Aakhirasabaan 'the End of Time',. If they are translated
literally as given abovet they give an impression which is: I