Nooc: Gabay
Dacartuba mar bay malab dhashaa, ood muudsadtaa dhabaqa’ee
Waxaan ahay macaan iyo qaraar, meel ku wada yaal’ee
Midigtayda’iyo bidixdu, waa labo mataanood’ee
Midi waa martida soora, iyo maatada daadihi’ee
Midina waa mindiyo xiira, iyo mur’iyo deebaaq’ee
Mas’alooyin talantaaliya, baan maandhow leeyahay’ee
Nin majiirka kaliyuun qabsada, hay maleeynin’ee
Mar baan ahay muddeec camalsan, oonan maagista aqoonin’ee
Marna macankak laayaan ah, oo miigan baan ahay’ee
Mar baan ahay muftiga saahidnimo, mawlaca u gala’ee
Marna mukhawi waashay, oo xumaha miista baan ahay’ee
Mar baan ahay nin xaaraan maqdac ah, aanan marinin jidiinkiisa’ee
Marna tuug mu'adiya baan ahay, oonan maal Rasuul baxinin’ee
Mar baan ahay maqaan awliyaad, maqaddinkoodii’ee
Marna mudanka shaydaanka, iyo maal jin baan ahay’ee
Mar baan ahay murti’iyo baaniseba, madax reerhaya’ee
Oo ay waliba muuno’iyo dulqaad, igu majeertaan’ee
Marna reer magaal loofar, oonan muuqan baan ahay’ee
Waxaan ahay nin is midabeeya oo maalinba is roga’ee
Muuqaygu galinkiiba waa muunad gooniya’ee
Miisaanna ima saari karo, nin i maleeyaa’ee
Muslinka’iyo gaalada dirkooda, waan micna aqaan’ee
Malaa'igta naarta’iyo jannadu, waygu murantaa’ee
Ninkii maalmo badan soo jiray, madaxu booseeystay’ee
Ee ínan rag maamuli yaqiin, waa i maan garan’ee
Ninkasta halkii kuula mudan, ay muhadto laabtaadu’ee
Aanad madaddaaladeeda, ugala maarmaynin’ee
Iska soo mar, waa kuu banaan marinkaad doontaa’ee
Bitter and Sweet
Consider the aloe - how bitter is its taste!
Yet sometimes there wells up a sap so sweet
That it seems like honey in your mouth.
Side by side the sweet and bitter run
Just as they do, my friends, in me,
As I switch from sweet to bitter
And back to sweet again.
My two hands, right and left, are twins.
One twin gives food to strangers and to guests,
It sustains the weak and guides them.
But the other is a slashing, cutting knife -
As sharp to the taste as myrrh,
As bitter as the aloe.
Do not suppose I am the kind of man
Who walks along one path, and that path only.
I go one way, and seem a reasonable man,
I provoke no one, I have the best of natures
I go another, and I'm obstinate and bold,
Striking out at others without cause.
Sometimes I seem a learned man of God
Who retreats in ascetic zeal to a seclude sanctuary -
I turn again and I'm a crazy libertine,
Sneakily snatching whatever I can get.
I am counted as one of the elders of the clan,
Esteemed for my wisdom, tact and skill in argument,
But within me there dwells a mere townee, too -
A no-good layabout he is, at that.
I'm a man whose gullet will allow no passage
For food that believers are forbidden to eat,
And yet I'm a pernicious, hardened thief -
The property of even the Prophet himself
Would not be safe from me.
I have my place among the holy saints,
I am one of the foremost of their leaders,
But at times I hold high rank in Satan's retinue,
And then my lords and masters are the jinns.
It's no good trying to weigh me up -
I can't be balanced on a pair of scales.
From this day to that my very colour changes -
Nay, I'm a man whose aspect alters
As morning turns to evening
And back once more to morning.
Muslims and infidels - I know their minds
And understand them through and through.
"He's ours!" the angels of Hell proclaim of me
"No, ours!" the angels of Heaven protest.
I have, then, all these striking qualities
Which no one can ignore -
But who can really know my mind?
Only a grey-head who has lived for many days
And learned to measure what men are worth.
And now, my friends, each man of you -
If either of the paths I follow
Takes your fancy and delights your heart,
Or even if you cannot bear to lose
The entertainment I provide,
Then come to me along the path -
You're free to make a choice!
Waxaa u tarjumay Ingiriiska: B.W. Andrzejewski iyo Sheila Andrzejewski.
