Crafting modern Somali poetry: Lyric features in ‘Fad Galbeed’ by Gaarriye and ‘Xabagbarsheed’ by Weedhsame

Abstract

This article presents two Somali poems in the jiifto metre: Fad Galbeed ‘Evening Cloud’ by Maxamed Xaashi Dhamac ‘Gaarriye’ and Xabagbarsheed ‘Royal Jelly’ by Xasan Daahir Ismaaciil ‘Weedhsame’. Each is recognized as a fine example of modern Somali poetry, and this article seeks to understand some of the reasons why this is so. The particular features considered are the use of address and apostrophe in Fad Galbeed and how this relates to the lyric present in each of the two parts of the poem. In Xabagbarsheed, on the other hand, I concentrate on sound-patterning looking at two sections in particular, one which displays assonance and another which displays interesting crafting of sound features which, it is suggested, foreground the sound of the alliterating consonant in a particularly appealing way. The discussion is centred on the poems themselves making detailed reference to the language used and how this contributes to the features and effects discussed. It is thus on the one hand a contribution to the study of the craft and aesthetics in Somali poetry. On the other hand, the manifestations of these aesthetic aspects coincide with what is presented in work on lyric. The article makes reference to this and, without going into detail on the theoretical aspects, seeks to begin to make a contribution from Somali poetry to this field of literary study.
KEY WORDS: Somali, poetry, lyric, poetics, alliteration