A Poem about Qat

Abdi! Although I have abstained from poetry,
And have not for decades uttered a single sound.
The creative powers I have once had,
and the Melodious voice with which I used to convey,
I have lost the desire for poetry in recent years.
A moving emotion leaves me restless tonight,
Forcing me to say what you have been asking awhile.
In this world that some have aimed for higher galaxies.
In this world that some are trotting on the moon.
In this world scientists lead with scientific understanding.
In this world threatening each other with deadly nukes,
We are calmly chewing this poisonous grass.
Our entire thinking is reduced to chewing qat.
Our children are incarcerated in harsh prisons cells
Our girls and women exposed to dangerous habits.
Our youth hating their country are in a hurry to leave.
All await travel and deadly sea adventures,
In their hopes and dreams to flourish elsewhere.
If we are not tiring of self-imposed migration
We are unwilling to stop this disgracing qat.
May Allah give us peace and change our ways.
Elders don’t bring not even a tooth brush
Entertaining themselves they succumb to grass
Like herds heading home and chewing their curd
They enjoy chewing their qat in early evenings
But without peaceful sleep they stay wide eyed
Lazy and sluggish, they don’t look for jobs
If they find two morsels by way of lunch
Before swallowing, they run to qat again
Walking in the markets in any afternoon
It looks desolate in abandoned ruins
May Allah give us peace and change our ways.
If they do not stop this narcotic leave,
Our government fails to ban its consumption.
Religious scholars don’t point its ills
And our doctors ignore its illnesses
Nor does our youth shun its consumption,
If our elders don’t abstain and forewarn
Undoubtedly our country is on destructive path
Unless Allah gives us peace and change our ways.
Look at how many virgins and beauties neglected.
Look at how divorce, not matrimony becomes commonplace.
Look at how kids are lost without any protection.
Look at this scary disintegration of our culture.
Look at how many girls submit into chewing qat.
Who have been misguided and lulled with false tales.
Look at married women whose cheeks swell with qat
May Allah give us peace and change our ways.

By Faisal Aw Cabdi.

Translated by Rhoda A. Rageh with the permission of the author.
faysal_awcabdi@hotmail.comLondon UK