SUFI POETRY IN SOMALI

Although the Somalis may reflect on the beauty of nature,
they are keenly aware of its transitory character which
is often emphasized in the Quran. Thus the ephemeral
character of the natural world and the reality of death
never escapes their attentiun. In this anonymous poem,
the poet asks his audience if they are prepared for death
and the next world:

1. Adduunyadu waa ul geed sudhanee
   .2. Abdaal ma u dhigatay Aakhiro?

i. The World is a dead branch hanging on a tree

:2. Have you put anything for yourself in the next

world?

[A.Y.M.]

Again, Axmed Saleebaan Bidde, a famous poet and playwright,

states the impermanence of this world in a simple and

straightforward manner:

Waa laac adduunyadu

Labadii walaalo ah

Mid ba maalin ladayaa.

The world is but a mirage

And of every two brothers

Only one is happy each da:y.

(Heel1ooy Heelleellooy, Poem 12,

Lines 19-21)

Short prayers may sometimes be found in the text of a

44.

secular poem. In the following lines, Sayid Maxamed Cabdille

Xasan prays to God, and invokes Sufi saints and some Suras

of the Quran which are associated with miraculous powers

as he blesses his emissarj.