Sunday, March 27, 2011

Fire in Freetown - K'naan

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

God Bless The Broken Strings

God help the child who never had a shelter
God help them find the strength to carry on
Oh it’s a cold world out there for ignorance
Them children waiting around in the doorway’s of Cape Town  
Them children in the hands of abuser’s
We know it’s not a fair game
Money, you’ve got lots of friends
Happy home and prefect pictures

There’re million little eyes
Staring at you on the borderlines
Of Africa

God bless the broken strings
For the child who’s got he’s own way
God bless the broken strings
For the child who suffers another day
God bless the broken strings
That led them straight to you

God help the child who’s living on the slum’s of Kibera
God help the man who gave that child a gun
Oh it’s not an easy road to walk on the fire
For a child to understand the flames
There’s no straight answer
For a child to led the soldiers 

This boy is hungry and he ain’t got enough to eat
That girl is angry and she ain’t got no shoe to walk   

God bless the broken strings
For the child who’s got he’s own way 
God bless the broken strings
For the child who suffers another day
God bless the broken strings
That led them straight to you

God bless the broken dreams
Let every man help he’s brother  
Let the world know there’s an orphan  
There’re million little eyes
Staring at you on the borderlines
Of Africa

God bless the broken strings   
That led them straight to you

Ali Maxamed
Copyright © 2011

With sin, we win.

You made sin seem so right, 
you made sin feel so good, I felt so pretty with you,
but how did our hearts become so ugly. 
With sin we win, 

because without sin I don’t have your love,
and with sin we can lie to have the most fun, 
so let’s do it together and let our thoughts run, 
don’t let it be over don’t tell me it’s done, 
some one  knows about our rendezvous, 
roughly more than three, 
but it’s you that I want, without you I aint free,
and with passion I can feel the baring heat, 
and at night my conscience speaks so I can’t sleep, 
everything is written and even if I try and erase my feelings, 
instead my tongue goes out and betrays me, I can’t believe I fell for it, I fell for you,
it’s like you made a bet to fool my heart,

nicely done my love, you let the devil whisper don’t tell the shaytan has become your mentor,
but I swore you considered Allah as your best friend, 
what we had was it all lies, must I now cry,
because my feelings were the only thing that was the truth between you and I, 
O the lies, O the lies, pat yourself on the back mashAllah,
with sin you won and with my sin I’ve sadly lost and the cost of it, 
you have stolen my smile and my heart did you sell it to the devil? 
Right now I can’t speak a word, he is laughing at me and you,
and we lost in the eyes of our Lord. 
Is it wrong if I ask you to continue on adoring me covering me with false promises, 
I’m just loving this beautiful lie, it was lovely while it lasted, see I was so happy,
until I was awoken from the truth and found out the happiness in this world was a trick for the fools.  

Idil Mahamed
Copyright © 2011

I am the New Generation

My beautiful mother ran away from a falling nation to save a new generation
Giving birth in the middle of a new country that she didn’t understand
Declaring that I am the new generation
Teaching me to speak multiple tongues in multiple cultures  
Reminding me not to forget the sacrifices that many made for a promise of a nation
Because I am the new generation

who will lead a nation shrouded in darkness into the light
who will uplift a nation’s tears into rainbows
who will turn the rubble into glorious statues
who will change the burned ashes into a valley of roses

who will add ideas and new inventions to the envy of the world
who will turn time into a future of a prosperous first world nation
who will shine the Pearl of the Indian Ocean until it shines brighter than any star
who will pick up the discarded flag and waving it high to join the other nations

So much faith my mother has in me as the new generation
Filling my head with history, poetry, and politics
Singing the words of our national anthem as my lullaby
Preparing me to become to the new generation

I confess that I don’t believe in her dreams
I am not that clever or strong to save a nation like a hero in a movie
I am clever enough to know that there is no such thing as I am the new generation
It doesn’t exist it is only
We are the New Generation

We are the New Generation who will   
who will lead a nation shrouded in darkness into the light
who will uplift a nation’s tears into rainbows
who will turn the rubble into glorious statues
who will change the burned ashes into a valley of roses

who will add ideas and new inventions to the envy of the world
who will turn time into a future of a prosperous first world nation
who will shine the Pearl of the Indian Ocean until it shines brighter than any star
who will pick up the discarded flag and waving it high to join the other nations

My beautiful mother always did hate to wait
But she has to wait for all the mothers to
Fill our head with history, poetry, and politics
Sing us the words of our national anthem as our lullaby
Prepare us to become to the new generation

Only then when we are ready, strong, and together to declare as one that
We are the New Generation.

Sindiya Darman
Copyright © 2011

She stayed.

The trees wait on the sun 
To shine its light on it
So it might grow

The caged bird
silently waits on its master
to be feed.

The garden
patiently waits on the gardener
to be nourished...

She on the other hand
waited on the man
who was suppose to be her sunshine
Her protecter
Her better half
but who abused her
Day and night 
to tell her of
her worth.

She stayed like a faithful tree
Kept mum like the caged bird
Hoping that with a brighter day
Her garden would be fulfilled with sunshine
And her lover's hand would never hurt again...

Halima Ahmed
Copyright © 2011

Will you marry me?

They say P, he’s not the marrying kind.
How little do they know about what’s on my mind!
How many times did I picture the picture.
Girl, your smile enriched my life and it gets richer!
I see my brothers going down on their knees,
To ask for the hand of the queen that they used to tease.
Now I wonder was that step easy to take?
‘Will you marry me?’ forming a bond, how hard is it to break?

I have my mistakes – my dear and so do you,
Worth considering or only the things we went through.
Are you ready to take this journey?
Or should we rather stay lonely?
I don’t know.
Can you feel my despair in my rhythms flow?
Draw me the picture of a wedding,
Tell me the joy a marriage might bring.

A wedding starts with two peoples promise.
A promise filled with devotion, horizon coloured endless.
A lovers vow to honour his bride every day.
A lovers vow to honour her in the same way,
Like our ancestors did when it was their turn,
To marry, start a family, their flames still enlighten and burn.
Our family’s strength – silent like an extinct volcano.
Our bonds strength – like lava, erupted inferno.

This new link in the family’s chain,
Brings harmony, is blessed and wasn’t in vain!
May God, the Merciful grant you two happiness,
Through every four seasons, colourful and endless.
During every spring – a fresh breeze, which lingers and stays.
During every summer – warmth like the sunshine’s sunny rays.
During every autumn – calm and colourful, like the orange leafs.
During every winter – comfort and peace – Follow Your Dreams.

Will you marry me?


Pen 'N' Paper
Copyright © 2011

Sacrificed

Flesh torn,
legs tied,
eyes blind
folded
I am now woman.
They danced my screams into the night,
Hoyoo holding my hand tightly
and stroking my hair with a gentleness
that belied reality.
This is my culture
Or is it my religion?
I forget when minds are not fully made up
Yet.
But it's definitely good
whether for God or for Somalia
I must sacrifice part of my flesh.
Hand it over to calm the raging spirits of promiscuity in me
So that I may be kept pure and fresh.
The women cloaked and heavy
Sit on my chest so it is difficult to move
or breathe.
The tools of holy exorcism laid on the table
In their jagged glory and righteousness
Tin can lids and scissors
Before I'm rendered vision less by the incense scented scarf
I see the Mother Priestess pulling at her twigs
and her make shift razor blades.
She has her weapons,
Prepared to enter into holy combat
with my flesh.
Pull
Pulled
Rip
Ripped
Slice
Sliced
The pain so unbearable
This must be what Heaven feels like.
My body was sacrificed at the alter of Godliness
Or Somaliness.
I forget since minds are not made up
Yet.
God's natural guards of conscience and faith
are not enough
for my morals reside in the physical flesh
to be torn
and ripped
and cut
and split
For me to be woman.
They sang
and shouted
and prayed.
Alhamdulilah!
MashaAllah!
You're a big girl now
I fainted
I came to
Dancing
Singing
and my legs tied
My sacrficed flesh lay on the floor
In all the demonic promiscuity
Obvious in an 8year old little girl.
My blood of whorish evil pooled around the women's diraac's
They danced my promiscuity away
The chanted my body closed with twigs
No labia,
No clitoris
For Somalia
Or for God.
Or for both.
I don't know
But Hoyoo said today I'm a big girl.
Flesh torn,
legs tied,
eyes blind
folded
We are now women.

Nimo Hussein
Copyright © 2011