A Poet is by definition a prophet, too. More to point the gabayaa, or singer of verse, is in Somali tradition believed to possess a figurative third eye, the prophetic eye that avails him of the powers of clairvoyance. Consequently, we thought we were on to something when the late Khaliif Sheikh Mohamuud, indisputably the greatest Somali poet in the 1970s decade, prophesied in his remarkable Hurgumo, or Festering Wound, these noble lines:
Hadalka hayga moodina inaan maarawaa nahaye,
Sidaan maanta nahay yaan la oran laga mil roonaaye,
Mar un baannu mowjada xirmiyo maayad soo kicine,
Nabsigaas mugdiga gudahayaan mar un helaynaaye,
Caruurahaan maryaadahaya iyo dumarkan mowleyey,
Mar un baa mid lagu meelmariyo maahir nookicine,
Mar un baa rag wada miigan iyo miidi soo bixine,
let no man presume that I sing out of despair on account of the devastation visited on my kin,
Let no man say, because of our sorrowful state today, that we Majeerteen have been trounced for good,
The day will come when we shall surge forth like a thunderous hurricane,
The nocturnal visitor of fortune shall yet smile upon us,
The weeping children and widowed matrons, whose husbands have been wantonly slaughtered,
The time will come when a great hero shall arise amongst us and shall redeem us,
Then there will sally forth men of honor and valor for our salvation,
By the grace of God, we've been redeemed 

