Venice masks

Tuesday 13 October 2020

Good Sense - Xasan Sheekh Muumin

The ostrich places
Her young in the open
Where the hawk kills
But the small bird marries
And beds her young
In a nest that's safe

      Different in size, the two
      In manners, wisdom
      And sense are opposite
      See how good sense
      Is superior to strength
      And think on it.

The elephant with large tusks
Grazes at night in land
Where the enemy hunts him
But the termite builds
The mound we see
Protects himself within it.

      Different in size, the two
      In manners, wisdom
      And sense are opposite
      See how good sense
      Is superior to strength
      And think on it.

Do you know the dikdik?
She digs at the dust
Buries her droppings
But does the lion conceal his?
The path to the watering hole
He stains with his dung.

      Different in size, the two
      In manners, wisdom
      And sense are opposite
      See how good sense
      Is superior to strength
      And think on it.

Xasan Sheekh Muumin (1931 - 2008) Somalia
Translated by Martin Orwin
Source: City Lore

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