I am waiting
My husband;
Listen,
Time is calling;
I have watched
Eighty mail boats
Up the Nile,
Eighty weeks
By the sands,
Twenty new moons
Over Ramesees:
Come back,
My husband,
Come back from Cairo;
It is time,
The Nile is growing old.
I am waiting
My son;
Listen,
Time is calling;
I have stood
At the door
Alone,
No daughter-in-law,
No small child
To hold my hand;
I am longing for a feast,
For a wedding;
Come back,
My son,
Come back from Khartoum;
It is time,
The Nile is rising fast.