Wednesday, July 06, 2022

A Haiku for the world*

 Mankind goes high wire

Wisdom snails through the darkness

Cherry blossom in fall.

 

          ***

Children wail in school

Morality at gun point

Roses at bloodbath.

         

***

Old men lean on mics

Storms rumble on the horizon

Lilies wait to tumble.

         

***

Camels stand listless

Smoke rises from a factory

No tears from the sky.

         

***

Black bodies wash ashore

Diamonds on ivory necks

Drums beat in winter

             

***

Boats splash in water

Cheetah cubs whimper in bags

Soaring heat at dawn

 

***

Fish swims in sea slime

Dusky stars blink from the heavens

Gadgets light the earth.

 

-       Bashir Goth, June 15, 2022 written in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

 * I told my wife that I forgot to bring a book with me to read during my trip to Minnesota and she told me to write a poem about the condition of the world. Hence, this haiku was born.

https://www.poemhunter.com/member/AddNewPoem/?poemid=61898453


Friday, January 14, 2022

Koonka Ka Ogsooni

 

The first lines of this poem which have become the concluding lines “abaal kuna, abaal kaydsan, abaal kun iyo dheeraada…” came to me on Jan12, 2022 at 9:14 AM while in the bathroom in the room of my quarantine hotel, Swissotel, Al Ghurair Center, Omar Bin Al Khatab Road, Deira Dubai. Then I completed it in the morning of January 13, and  finally made the last edits in the morning of January 14.

 

Koonka ka ogsooni

 

Koronuhu markuu igu dhacee, noloshu kayrkaytay

Ee kadimada la ii oodaye, la i karaantiinay

Kaynaanka ninkii iigu yimid, ina karaameeyey

Abiidaba kun deeq buu ahaa, duni kalkaalkeede

Ee kowba gurmad ii ahaa, koonka ka ogsooni

Saxiibadii kurbadu ii gashee, koolka damin waayey

Ee alla bariga iila soo kalahay, koonka ka ogsooni

Ehelkii kabtiga iyo ducada, igula soo kooyey

Ee kaarka iyo xanuunkaygu dhibay, koonka ka ogsooni

Reerkaygii keligood cidlada, kaalintay tebayey

Ee lahaa allow kaayagow, kani ku weydaari

Ee kalka iyo laabtayda culay, koonka ka ogsooni

Korka uun kuwii iga maqlee, yeedhmo kari waayey

Ee niyadda uun allow kici lahaa, koonka ka ogsooni

Kuwii yidhi allow uu kaw yidhaa, kani na weydaarto

Ee habaarka iila soo kuudadsaday, koonka ka ogsooni

Caafimaadku waa kayd ilaah, siiyo kuu rabo e

Haddaan karinka soo dhaafo oon, orodka kaynaansho

Abaal kuna, abaal kaydsan, abaal kun iyo dheeraada

Qof waliba Kalkaan ugu hayaa, Kaalintuu galaye.

 

---Bashir Goth, January 14, 2022.

 Hoos ka dhegeyso isaga oo coda ah (listen to the audio below):

Koonka Ka Ogsooni

https://soundcloud.com/bashir-goth/koonka-ka-ogsooni-m4a

Wednesday, December 01, 2021

An Ode for the Emirates by Bashir Goth

 I wrote the following poem in 2016 but  kept it under wraps not by design by accident until I remembered it today on the 50th National Day of the United Arab  Emirates, a country in which I spent many years of my life and career. 

An Ode for the Emirates

 Let Imraul Qais, Antra and yesteryear poets

Weep on their Atlal

On their blackened hearthstones

And sing an ode for the Emirates

Forget Abbasid Baghdad and its splendors

Its poets, its goblets, and its maidens

And sing an ode for the Emirates

Leave Umayyad Damascus and its domes

Its Byzantium palaces, its Udari poets

In the distant memory

And sing an ode for the Emirates

Weep not on the ruins of Al-Andalus

And its cities of light

The arches and tapestry of Al Hamra

And fountains of Madinat Al-Zahra

And sing an ode for the Emirates

                        ***

Sing for the miracle, mythical

Meteoric rise of Abu Dhabi and Dubai

For the splendid beauty of Sharjah

For the elegance of Ajman and Umm Al Quwain

For the glory of Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah

For the Shimmering towers adorning the sky

For the highways and overhanging bridges

Stop and gaze in amazement and awe

At Arabia’s 21st century wonder

And sing an ode for the Emirates.

                        -Bashir Goth (2nd Dec. 2016) 

 

Friday, June 05, 2020

قصيدة إقريقيا - بشيرالشيخ عمرغوث

إفريقيا

رغم القحط في الأرجاء
رغم الذل
رغم الفقر
رغم الظلام الملبد في الفيحاء
سأغني وأغني
وبسماع النغم
ستغمرني البهجة
رغم الداء

***

إفريقيا
ستولد إفريقيا الجديد
من صرخة الأطفال
من ضياع كرامة الإنسان والأمان
من فوهة البركان
ويستيقط المارد العنيد
قوياً
جاهدا
يكسر الأغلال والحديد
معلناً
الأستقلال من جديد

***

إفريقيا
هل تسمع الدفوف
والقرع في الطبول
فالشاعر المغمور
لم يغلبه الخمول
فاليوم "سوينكا"1
قد سكت الفحول
وبكرة من يؤول
فالشعر في البحور
في دربك المهجور
يكون في القبور
لم يصمت الـ " سنجور"2
والعاشق المقهور
"محمد الفيتور"3

***

وقالت لي السمراء
تعاتبني
وتنظرني
كأني صرت كالحرباء
ومن غيري تكون السمراء؟
أتهتفها
أم تمقتها
أم تروي قصة الأعداء
أكون أنا
بلا إنتماء؟
وبإسمي
حتى إسمي
أكون به من الإماء
ولغيري يكون بهاء
أين التاريخ يا بلهاء؟

***
فقلت لها
وأنا في دومة الأعياء
أيا أماه
كذا وُلدنا
كذا وُجدنا
كذا حفظنا
دورس الإملاء
أنك وحدك السوداء
وغيرك البيض والسمراء

***

فقالت
يا لها من أبناء
أُناس يحفظ الإملاء
يُدوّن الآراء
كل ما قاله السفهاء
ولا يُجيد لي إصغاء
أروي لهم أساطيري
أروج روح أفكاري
فلا فخر لأمجادي
ولا أذنٌ لآمالي
فيا ويلي من الأبناء
ويا ويلي من الإستهزاء.

                                                      بشير الشيخ عمر غوث (10 يناير 1987)

1- سوينكا : هو وولي سوينكا كاتب مسرحي شهير من نيجيريا حائز على جائزة نوبل للأداب عام 1986
2- سنجور: ليبولد سدار سينغور كان شاعرا مرموقاً وأديباً عالمياً وأول رئيس للسنغال توفي عام  2001 وكان فيلسوف نظرية الزنوجة التي كان الشاعر المرتنيكي ايميه سيزار من روادها.

3- محمد الفيتور: هو محمد الفيتوري كان شاعراً سودانيا بارزا يعد من رواد الشعر الحر الحديث وكان يلقب بشاعر أفريقيا والعروبة توفي في أبريل عام 2015

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Women and singing in Somali culture by Bashir Goth

Singing is not only an integral part of daily life for Somali women but also a medium through which they can express their grievances and criticise paternalistic social norms that have solidified men’s hegemony over women and limited their social participation to certain stereotyped roles. From a mother’s lullabies to work songs, folkloric dance lyrics and the famous buraanbur genre, Somali women’s sung poetry conveys messages and stories about their status in society

READ MORE

Wednesday, February 06, 2019

Bal Eeg (Gudniin ) A poem in Somali on Female Genital Mutilation with English translation



Quraanka iyo ilayska bal eeg
Waxan Eebbe ku sheegin bal eeg
Awowgaa ku dhaqmaayey bal eeg
Ayaad aayado mooddee bal eeg
Anbad baad ku jirtaaye bal eeg
Aqligaaga u fiirso bal eeg

Upon the Quran, the light, reflect
on what God said, reflect
and that which He did not say, reflect.
Reflect, if you may, and you will know it is only
but a custom, a tradition of your forefathers
that you mistook for God’s command.
Reflect, if you may, and you will know
that you indeed have lost your way
Reflect, if you may, and surely
you will return to your sound mind!

Ilaahay asturaadda bal eeg
Siduu meesha u uumay bal eeg
Inaan eediba gaadhin bal eeg
Malko loogu adkeeyey bal eeg
Arxan loogu dhammeeyey bal eeg
Asalkii nolosheena bal eeg

Upon how God protected the organ, reflect
Upon how God created it, reflect
Reflect, if you may, on how God kept it
safe from all harm
Upon how God made it Impregnable, reflect
Reflect, if you may, on how God endowed it
with all care and mercy
Upon the origin of our life, reflect.

Si aanay u asqoobin bal eeg
Ummushu uga irdhoobin bal eeg
Ilmaheeda u hiifin bal eeg
Ilaahay asmadiisa bal eeg
Elaastiigga ka yeelay bal eeg
Adna aad ku adkaysay bal eeg.

Upon how God spared the mother
From anguish and despair, reflect
on how God spared her from
resenting her offspring, reflect
Reflect, if you may, on how God shows us his signs
by fashioning the organ elastic;
Reflect, on how you insist on constricting it
and mutilating it, reflect.

Ib ilaahay baneeyey bal eeg
Inaad awddo awoodda bal eeg
Keligaa isa siisay bal eeg
Noloshii unkamaysay bal eeg
Ama tii Imanaysay bal eeg
Afaafkeeda ka oodday bal eeg

Reflect, if you may, on how God cleared the passage
And upon how audaciously you allow yourself
to close it, reflect.
Reflect, if you may, on how much power
You endow yourself with
by blocking the way to the life being conceived
and blocking the way to the life being born
O reflect on that, if you may!

Araggeegiyo nuurka bal eeg
Raxmaddaa ifka joogta bal eeg
Adna uub u qodayso bal eeg
Ubaxaa ad il duuftay bal eeg
Aynigeega dilayso bal eeg
Aqligaaga u fiirso bal eeg.

O reflect, if you may, on how glowing
how perfect she is
O reflect, if you may, on this mercy
that Heaven gifted the world
O reflect, if you may, on how  
you insist on burying her
O reflect, if you may, on that bloom
You failed to see;
O reflect, upon the grace you kill,
O reflect, if you may, and surely
you will return to your sound mind

                                    Bashir Goth, Wednesday 15th Jan. 2014.

Audio version

Monday, April 02, 2018

A Tribute to Winnie Mandela

Today, 2nd April 2018, Winnie Mandela, known as the mother of the nation during the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, the Iconic woman who held Mandela's memory up high the long years he was in prison, died at the age of 81. In 1987 at the height of South Africa's struggle, I wrote the following poem in Somali in celebration of her heroic campaign. It carried the title Amandala or power in Zulu which was Winnie's iconic defiant salute to the people. 


AMANDALA

Winniyeey habeenimo
Dabkaad hurisayee baxay
Hillaacii ka muuqdiyo
Hadawgii ka soo kacay
Hiinraagga beerkiyo
Guux halaanhalkaagii
Badda hooraheegiyo
Hirka soo jibaaxyoo
Hiirtaanyo weyniyo
Afrikada hammuuniyo
Holac weyn ku noolee

Hiyigii dalooshamay
Nabarkii hagaadee
Huuryadu ku noolayd
Soo celi hafeeftii

Himbiriirsi araggii
Heegadu dul saarnayd
Hummaaggii wax kala arag

Horaadkii qombobayee
Ilmuhu uu la huudmiyo
Hooyo naasaheegii
Haaneedki soo curay

Odayadu hillaabtii
Haaraysay dhabarkee
Qarniyaal dul hogatiyo
HAYEDII ka dootame

Hoobeeyadaadii
Carruurtii ku heestoo
Ubixii horseed noqoy

NELSON hiigsigiisii
Dayrka lagu hagoogiyo
Kuma huudmin jeelkoo
Gacantaada hodankaa
Markaad sare u hidiseed
Amandala ku heestaa
Shicibkii hongobee
Ciilkuu haleeliyo
Geeduhu hadleenoo
Dalku hooyo kaa dhigay

Anigana hammuuntii
Halgankaagu kiciyaa
Hollinaysa beerkoo
Magacaaga hiirtaan
Habeenkiyo dharaartii
Ku hammoonayaayoo

Hareeraha SOWETIYO
Hoygaaga BRADFORD
Yaan u heelanahayoo
Hambalyiyo salaaniyo
Ubax dhiig halyeey iyo
Haween gocashadoodiyo
Hadaaqii dhallaankiyo
Lagu habay xusuus baan
Kuula soo hagaagoon
Kuula soo habqamayaa.


Bashir Sh. Omer Good (Goth)
April 4, 1987