The Nile Is Thirsty Poem by Ahmed Fouad Negm

O maidens, the Nile is thirsty
For love and with nostalgia
The shore has
No light
Not a single breeze
No neys
No jasmines

O Shahinda[1], tell us your story
O Mother, with a desolate voice
O Mother, with eyes as green as fields
In them, gallops the steed
How is Al-Qanater Prison[2]?
How are the imprisoners?
How are your comrades in prison?

O light of the meadows
O Egypt, you are full of the imprisoned
And your clothing is all
Prison cells

And your spacious farmlands
Narrowed down entrapping the peasants
The smoke of chimneys
Is the same color of the workers

O young girls of the Nile
Captured by the whips of the lashers
In this age, there is no Antarah
But there are a million knights
Whom calculate their steps
Their roads parallel to the law
But when the moment comes
They ride the dragon's back
Destroys the barriers
And unshackle all prisoners

Translated by:Walaa Quisay