by Ahmed J. Hamud
A dialogue from the heart between a grandson from the diaspora who is visiting his traumatized and somewhat confused elderly grandmother (Ayeeyo) in a small village just outside the troubled capital, Mogadishu.
The scene takes place under an acacia tree and a rising sun in the background; symbolizing a hope upon hope that somehow at last Somalia will be pulled out of 16 years of chaos, famine, death and environmental destruction.
Ayeeyo: Lately I heard a lot; I dreamed a lot, But
Tell me, my Son!
Is it true,
Sun will rise
Milk will flow
Sanity will return?
Trees will grow
Birds will fly
Flowers will bloom?
Is it true,
Giraffe will be seen
Elephants will be sighted?
Is it true,
Dadaab will be demolished
Killer dhows will be downed?
Tell me, my Son
Is it true,
River water will be free?
Gaal-made thunder will be gone?
Isbarros will not be seen
Extortion will be extinct?
Expired aspirin will not be sold?
Is it true,
Tormentors will be tried
Victims will be free?
Is it true,
Solidarity will be en vogue
Secession will be an old song?
Is it true,
Bazooka will perish
Barwaaqo will return?
Oh! Yes, tell me, my Son!
Is it true,
Togane will return
with the Tall Man in tow?
Grandson ( smiling) Ayeeyo! That will be the day!
Yes, all these will be
Yes, all these will be …
If we cleanse our hearts from hate
Expunge clanism virus from our soul
If we refrain from wrong
If we gang against goons
If we feel the pain of others
And care for the feeble and forgotten
That is
If we truly follow our faith
And ‘give peace a chance’!
Ayeeyo: Ayeeyo! Ayeeyo! I almost forgot
Tell me, my son!
Is it true
aliens are on our shore
aliens in Mogadishu
aliens in Berbera and Bossaso
aliens everywhere?
Grandson : Ha!, Ayeeyo,
that unfortunately is true
that unfortunately is so
But, Aliens can NOT and will NOT remain here for long
If we cleanse our hearts from hate
Expunge clanism virus from our soul
If we refrain from wrong
If we gang against goons
If we feel the pain of others
and care for the feeble and forgotten:
That is
If we truly follow our faith
And ‘give peace a chance’!
Ahmed J. Hamud
[email protected]
Ahmed Hamud is a Toronto-based writer/poet. The above dialogue between the grandmother and her returning son is an attempt on the part of the author to answer an oratorical question he raised in an earlier poem, HOW LONG (clikch here)
- Dadaab: A refugee camp in the border of Kenya and Somalia
- Isbaaro: A check point used in Mogadishu to extort money from drivers
- Ayeeyo: GrandMa (in Somali)
- Barwaaqo: Prosperity and Peace (in Somali)
- Togane: A well-known Somali poet and social critic who spent most of his adult life in the diasporas
- Tall Man: a friend of Togane, who, like his friend, is longing for return.