Selected Poem: The Deluge (Mohamed al- Mahdi al- Majzoub)
17 August, 2020
KHARTOUM (Sudanow) – Mohamed al-Mahdi al-Majzoub (1919-1982) was a well established Sudanese poet and literary writer. He has come to be recognized in Sudanese literature history as a pioneer in modernization of Sudanese poetry. He was the founder (and to some extent his relative Abdalla al Tayeb) of a profound school of poetry characterized mainly by its trend of crafting a vanguard poetic creation that avoided imitations of the archaic and rigorous poetic doctrine and stanzas of the past. His was a preference for the undisciplined and free style adopted by the contemporary poets. He has published nine books of poetry and wrote several articles. A graduate of Gordon College, al-Majzoub served as a government accountant.
Following is an example of his poems:
The Deluge
Noah’s Ark is a womb of a virgin
That rested on Mount Judi, bestowing life.
Moses coffin is a womb
Jesus’ cross is a womb
And Ghar Hiraa is a womb
And this Deluge abated with no ark,
No coffin, no cross and no Hiraa
Where is the refuge?
To the moon!
Does the earth escape from itself?
Searching for its kin?
*** The poem was taken from al-Sir Khidir's book "Modern Sudanese Poetry".
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