Abdulle Raage Tarawiil
Abdulle Raage Taraawiil was a Somali poet.
Raage joined Radio Mogadishu in 1960, with an entire collection of Guuroow poems dedicated to addressing nationalistic rhetoric and politics. He was also able to act very well, as did he recite the following verses of the Shabeel Naagood drama play of the 1960s demonstrating displeasure on the policy of Non Alignment by the Government.
Maad dhankaa u kacdaan, qoraxda ay u dhacayso
Ama dhankaa u kacdaan, dhanka ay kasoo dhalanayso
Dhexda xaa idin taagay, dhulka ha idin liqdee
Why didn't you move to where the sun sets
Or why didn't you move to where the sun rises,
Why stand in the middle: may the ground swallow you!
In 1982, he was accused of expressing antigovernment activity and subsequently arrested for four years. In the late 80s amidst the ongoing violence in and around the country, the poet Abdulle wrote a poem describing the problems that lay ahead.
Asluub iyo hadii sharaf jirin, aaminna xumaaday
Aadaabtiyoo xishoodkii, haddii laga ugaaroobay
Aargoosi reer hebel, haddii laysu aaneeyey
Ee ruux aan eed galin, rasaas lagu asqaaysiyey
Afdabeed ninkaan wadin, haddii aqalka loo dhaafay
No value, honor or trust is respected
When man shuns civility and behaves like a beast
Mutually assured destruction, brother against brother
Bullets mow down the innocent
If you don't have a flaming gun,
Armed gangs will rape and loot your households
Abdulle was born in Eeldheer district in 1932, he died in Mogadishu in April 2000.