Come to me softly - Xasan Ganey

Her:
You, the bloomed Qaydar tree,
drenched by a rain,
leaves a fragrant wind which shakes,
You, my qudhac flowers
 
You are the one
I’ve chosen,
The one I desire.
 
You who my soul follows
You will soon be refreshed
So come to me slowly.
 
Him:
You who are sweet like
the mareer fruit
That grows with beauty
And fragrant like the Qawl
 
You who cool
My smouldering heart
Covered in wounds
 
You the precious one
You will soon be refreshed
So come to me slowly
 
Her:
You who are like
the rain overflowing
the channels
In a lush green
 
You, who are a vessel full of ghee
Of which I’ve taken my share —
You, my strong ram.
 
You who my soul follows
You will be refreshed
So come to me slowly.
 
Him:
You who are
a rainbow,
sashes of colours,
And the freshly-fallen rain
 
You who are spring’s greenery,
With new shoots for grazing
And on places to camp.
 
You, the precious one.
You will be refreshed
So come to me slowly.

---

Xasan Ganey [Hassan Abdillahi Hagi Hassan] (born 1967) Somalia
Translated by Ibrahim Hirsi
Source: Poetry Translation Centre 

Qaydar tree - cedar
Qudhac flowers - Acacia tree flowers

Mareer fruit - Desert date, Balanites aegyptiaca