River Nile Poem by Dr. Ahmed Gumaa Siddiek

River Nile
Oh, River Nile!
You run like a silver chain
Through the green African plains
You did never stop or restrain
And you did never complain

On the desert you run,
Under the burning sun
You run
In winter, you run
Like a sheet of gold
Rich with stories and rich with fun
And millions of secrets, yet untold

River Nile, where do you come from?
From heaven or paradise?
Or from a holy fountain, you rise?

You were running millions and millions of years
With full might shedding no tears
With abundance of waters
You share over all spheres

You did never rest for a while
But running thousands of miles and miles
Happy and generous Oh, River Nile!
Accommodating the fish and the crocodile

You run from country to country
From century to century
You give with kindness
And your gifts have reached
The poor villagers on the banks
The herdsmen and peasantry
You give without ranks
Or wait for thanks

Then through cities you run
Untired but happy and full of fun
Your gifts are unlimited
Everywhere they have gone

You run from Tana, your start station
To the Delta with no hesitation
Carrying the bless of the nations
To Nubian and Egyptian
Your holy water, to the rich and the poor
is inoculation

Your White Branch comes from Victoria
Through the forests of Equatoria
Then runs to meet the Blue Nile
Coming from Abyssinia
Elegant and proud in his style
From the plateau above
Then you with all the love
Meet in Khartoum, and both
March towards the North

On your banks grow millions of vegetation
Plant species and animal populations
Harmoniously live with human nations

Then from Victoria to Khartoum in the Sudan
You meet the Blue Nile like a loving couple
Then together you make your journey to Aswan
To the Mediterranean you make your great travel

You the White Nile
From Victoria you start your march
From hill to hill and from valley to valley
You cross the borders
You give no orders
But peacefully run, you are never harsh
Through Equatoria to the Savanna
To the edge of the Desert in Khartoum
Where you are received as a bridegroom
Always calm, childish and polite
Full of manners and civilized

Blameless as you easily run
Flood-less on your banks
To enable the poor fisherman
Collect his net full with fish
And the child to get his herd
To drink from your generous dish

So you together meet at Khartoum
Then embrace each other
As darling lovers
As babies embraced by their mothers
Then like a married couple in their first day
You meet with the Blue Nile then run away
In your honeymoon
Both to the North
With your endless force

You the Blue Nile, you are always young
Rough and masculine
Fierce and furious and always ready to sway
Your enemy
So you push the White Nile back to make your way
Then run to the North with no delay
Through the desert in the North of Sudan

So the Blue is always rough with you,
You harmless White Nile
You are always kind and wise, too
Like an old man with his naughty son
Together agreed to Egypt, you run

Through the Nubian Civilization
Where three hundred Pyramids witness
And guard the nation
You head to North to the Sea
Carrying the Sudanic culture
To the world to see
From Nebtta and Merowe,
from Karma and the Barkal
Through Dongla through the desert you flee
To the Sea

To the world, you carry the Nubian civilization
A token of friendship
To human population
Then Nile with full motion and emotions
You tell the story of the Sudanese greatest nation

River Nile,
Your banks stand to tell our great history
From Piye, the black Pharaoh
and all his family tree
Whose empire extended from Khartoum
To Mediterranean Sea
Who stood against the bloodthirsty of Assyrians
Saving Jerusalem from enemy
El Kurru, Nuri, and Meroë all stand
As witness of great history
Great deeds crowned by the Mahadi with his victory

The old temples stand strong and fair
with Mosques Minarets
Shooting high in the air
For Allah Akbar to travel free
Through the atmosphere
To reach human beings everywhere
To herald the Dervish victory
on the British Empire
And across
Stood the Church with the Cross
You can hear the bell on Sunday
And the Mosques send the calls
of prayers on Friday
They together stand as symbols
Of true religious integration
Among the Sudanic nation

As if Nile you want to say there is space
For all human faith
For all human race
To live happily on the face of your earth
Space for all human race
for Africans,
for the Arabs,
for the Coptics,
for the Jews,
for the Christians
And the Muslims as well
All happily live on your banks
Devoid of race prejudice or social ranks

Boats sailing along your generous shores
With plenty of food to the rich and the poor
The fishermen go back home
Happy and thankful to your generous hand
And the farmers happy with
the soil of their land
They grow once and harvest twice through the year
With plenty of food to spare
and nothing they have to fear

Women and children kings and fools
All human beings happily crop
from your unlimited pools

How many civilizations did you witness?
The Greeks
The Roman,
The Nubian,
The Kushian,
The Turkish,
The French,
The English,
The Pagan,
The Jewish,
The Christians
And the Muslim Dervish?
How many civilizations did you witness?
How many Kings and Queens asked your friendship?
And how many Pharaohs had had their trip?
How many Saints or Prophets had your grip?
Moses, Jesus, and other great men of God
All were to lead their disciples to the righteous roads
But some tyrants in the sea they were rot

Like a great father always kind to them all
Giving without waiting for thanks, at all
You are fair River Nile
And you are fair to the whole
The birds in the sky
And the animals on the banks
All have their share
The plants, the human and the fish
Your water still abundant and fresh

You had once been worshiped
Thousands of years ago
Brides were given as bribes
To appease your Ego
That you should not stop
But continue to flow

Oh River Nile, the Snake God you were said to be
All thankful to your daily run from South to North
like a never ending history
And of course
You did never change your course

The Churches' bells
And the Mosques Minarets
on your banks,
Send their calls and thanks
And both stand
As symbols of unity of the land
Shooting high with Allah Akbar in the air
Gracefully and fair
And you are still running River Nile
Proud and smart in your elegant style.