As you may very well know

I have been busy struggling

trying to finish a book of poetry, called

THIS DEVIL'S CONCOCTION OF CLANS

and had been feeling  kind of down

since the publication of the book was postponed twice

(as you know very well too, I am as slow as a tortoise)

until the good Lord spoke to me through a sister called

Iyanla Vanzant

who taught me

That "success is a journey and not a destination"

That I am exactly where God wants me to be

That I have all the time to take my time

That I should ask the Lord to teach me to wait upon Him

"That they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength

That they shall mount up with wings as eagles

That they shall run and not be weary

That they shall walk and not faint."

She also taught me to avoid like the plague what she calls

The Spirit of the Do-Do

Which attacks one's brain

THIS IS WHAT THE SPIRIT OF THE DO-DO CAN DO

It can drive you insane

It never lets you rest

It is constantly telling you what to do

Do this!

Do that!

Do it faster!

Do it better!

Do it to clobber the competition!

Do it to rile your rivals!

Do it to get ahead!

Do it to go along!

Do it to get along!

Do whatever it takes!

Do it to keep up with the Joneses!

Do it for Beavus & Butthead!

Do it early!

Do it before dawn!

Do it often!

Do it again!

Do it to terrorism!

Do it against terrorism!

Do it for terrorism!

Do it to lose weight!

Do it to gain weight!

Do it till it hurts!

Do it till you drop!

Do it for fun!

Do the funky chicken!

Do it like we did it last summer!

Just do it!

Do as I say!

Don’t do as I do!

Do it quick!

Do it slow!

Do it now!

Do it on the road!

Do as they do in Peoria!

Do it today!

Do it for Dad!

Do it for Mom!

Do it for Big Papa Doc Afwayne!

Do it for your Darod clan!

Do it for your Hawiye clan!

Do it for me!

Do it for money!

Do it for free!

Do it or else!

Do it by the deadline or you're dead!

Do it for Aideed!

Do it for Ali Mahdi!

Do it for Abdullahi Yusuf!

Do it for Sad Silly Ina Salad Boy!

Do it for your duty!

Do it for your country!

Do it for your creed!

You better do it!

You better not do it!

They saw you do it!

You should do it!

You should not try to do it!

When will you do it?

How will you do it?

Where will you do it?

Why would you want to do it?

You can't do it!

You can do it!

You will do it!

You won’t do it!

You'd better do it!

Don't you ever do it!

There is only one way to rid yourself of the Spirit of the Do-Do

Close your eyes

Take a deep breath

Repeat one hundred times

Dear God

What would you have me do now?

I wish you the best

Of the dawning New Year

&

May the good Lord spare you

From the sick Spirit of the Do-Do in 2003!

To give you a taste of the book I am working on

I shall end this missile of a missive with the last poem

(From the forthcoming book)

Which will also be in the book

That Omar Eby is writing

To mark

&

To celebrate

The fiftieth anniversary of that fateful encounter

Between Somalis and North American Mennonite missionaries :

OMAR EBY

Omar

We Somalis have failed

To listen

To learn

To get it

To get the lesson the Mennonites have been trying to teach us now

For the last fifty years:

To love God

&

To love each other

That is why today the Somali nation is homeless

That is why we Somalis have made our home

Somalia

Into a hell to flee from

Not only have we Somalis failed

To listen

To learn that lesson

To get it

We Somalis have also murdered

In cold blood

On July 16, 1962

One of the Mennonite missionary teachers

From Markham Ontario

Who came to teach us Somali savages that lesson:

Merlin Russell Grove

Right now

In my mind's eye

In the village of Mahaddei Wayn

I can see Merlin

I can even hear Merlin

As it was his wont

Singing

The best definition of Islam there is

Perfect submission

Perfect delight

Visions of rapture now burst on my sight

Angels descending

Bring from above

Echoes of mercy

Whispers of love.

Perfect submission

All is at rest

I in my saviour am happy and blest

Watching and waiting

Looking above

Filled with His goodness

Lost in His love

This is my story

This is my song

Praising my Saviour all the day long.

This message of the Word of Love

This message of the Prince of Peace

This message of Jesus

This message of the Word of God

This message of the Spirit of God

That

Merlin & his fellow Mennonites have been trying to teach us Somalis

For the last fifty years

Is no different

>From this message

Weel-waal

Too tried to teach us Somalis

Ages ago

Will we Somalis ever listen

Will we Somalis ever learn

Will we Somalis ever get it

Get their message of

WHAT MAKES MEN DWELL TOGETHER IN PEACE

Weel-waal

King of the Darod Bartire clan

One of the rarest ornaments of the Somali race

Called for a powwow with his braves

&

Addressed them thus

"I want you to return to your homes

I want each one of you to kill the best lamb of his flock

&

Come back on the morrow with the part of the animal

That makes men either brothers or enemies."

When the morrow dawned

One brave brought the royal shoulder

So-called because it is served

To royalty

To heroes

To honored guests.

Another brought a good saddle of mutton

Another brought a leg

Another brought the ribs

Another brought the liver

But when Omar brought out the gullet

They blurted out

In dismay

In disgust

In chorus

"What an egregious insult!

What a heel!

What a heller!

What a hellion!

What an awful hellhound!

To offer an offal!

To the father of us all!

To the king of us all!"

But Weel-waal smiled

Saluting Omar

As the wisest sage of the Somalis

As the savviest son of a gun of the Somalis

Saying

"Omar is right-on

The gullet is the symbol of selflessness

The gullet is that part of the animal

That makes men either brothers or enemies.

The gullet receives the food first

But the gullet is most selfless

Like my mother

Hawa Eesse Alasow

Who always ate our leftovers

The gullet chooses to eat last

The gullet does not hoard the food

The gullet does not hog the food

The gullet is guileless

The gullet is guiltless

The gullet is no greedy gut at all!

The gullet passes the food down

The gullet downs the food

Sending it down

Down to each & every part of the body

Awaiting

All the while

Patiently

For her fair share.

O man of greed

O man of graft

Go for it

Go the distance

Go to the mat

Go for broke

Go to the gullet

Consider her ways & be wise.

So long as men share

Fair & square

As the gullet

They dwell together

Like us

Like brothers

In peace

In unity

&

Behold

How good

How pleasant

It is

When brothers

Like us

Dwell together

In peace

In unity

But

How can there be peace

How can there be unity

When one SOB seizes

Like an American

Like the Habar Gidir Ayr

All the Power

All the Pelf

Eating alone

Gloating

Slobbering

Silly & sick

Bloating with pride

Playing with their seven insatiable bellies of unbelief

In the grace of God

Growing fatso

Like an American

Like the Habar Gidir Ayr

Growing forgetful

Like an American

Like the Habar Gidir Ayr

Growing slick

Growing sleek as a seal

Like an American

Like the Habar Gidir Ayr

Hoarding

Hogging

Living

High on the hog

Like an American

Like the Habar Gidir Ayr

Looking like the pigs they are

Oinking like the pigs they are

Rooting up their own grave with their own snout

Like the pigs they are

While the awful long sharp nagging needles of hunger

Are leaching life out of their neighbor?

Omar!

The more words I weave

The more miserable you make your mien

Why?"

—" Alas, My King!

The praise you have just heaped upon me

Belongs to my fifteen-year old lass

Sophia

Who prevailed upon me to bring you the gullet!"

—"Glory be to God!

There is no power nor strength nor wisdom save in God!

Then Sophia is the wisest Somali sage!"

Peace!

Peace in Iraq!

Peace in the world!

Peace in Somalia!

If not now

When?

Indeed

When?

 

Mahamud Siad Togane