By Adil Babikir
October holds a special place in the modern history of Sudan. During this month, sixty years ago, the Sudanese people overthrew the first military dictatorship in what became the Arab world’s first popular uprising. This historic triumph ignited a wave of emotions and inspired a rich body of poetry, some of which was set to music and remains cherished to this day.
The late Sudanese poet Mohammed el-Makki Ibrahim stands out as one of the strongest literary voices that celebrated the October uprising. His “October Songs” resonate with unshakable resolve and boundless optimism, capturing the spirit of that momentous event:
The land is singing your green name, O October
The fields have burst into wheat, promise, and hopes
and the land, its troves flung open, is chanting:
With your name’s blessing, the masses have made it to victory,
the jail walls are down
and the chains are bracelets dangling
from a bride’s wrist!
Yet, the poet’s dreams of a green future were repeatedly shattered over the decades — under the weight of military dictatorships, partisan rivalries, ideological strife, and, most recently, an all-out war.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in conflict, plunging the nation into a crisis of unprecedented scale. This war has already claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced over 8 million people, casting a heavy shadow of uncertainty over Sudan’s future as a nation.
Dr. Eiman Abbas El-Nour’s poetic response to the war oscillates between despair and hope. In the three English-language poems shared below, she confronts the grim realities of conflict while clinging to faint glimmers of resilience and renewal.
In the first poem, “This October is Not Green,” grief is palpable from the title itself — a stark contrast to Mohammed el-Makki Ibrahim’s celebratory poem “October Al-Akhdar (Green October)”.
It is a poignant meditation on loss and transformation. With vivid imagery and searing questions, Dr. El-Nour captures the harrowing disconnection that war imposes — on individuals, their sense of self, and their homeland. The tone is raw and reflective, portraying a world where familiar comforts have become alien.
The second poem, “A Butterfly Dream,” turns inward, exploring the fragility of love and memory amidst isolation. Here, fleeting moments of beauty and connection provide solace, even as the poet acknowledges the solitude and yearning imposed by war. The longing for home and shared humanity shines through, offering a tender yet heartrending counterpoint to desolation.
In “This Land is Ours,” Dr. El-Nour draws on the resolve and pride embodied in the national anthem, as referenced in the title, to transform grief into hope. Rain, a recurring symbol, becomes a metaphor for renewal— soaking the parched land and weary hearts with the promise of new beginnings.
In their swinging between despair and hope, these poems bear witness to the emotional landscape of a nation in turmoil.
(1)
This October is not Green
By Eiman El-Nour
Blessed be this moment of revelation
I can see you clearly through the fog
Courtesy of my new prescription glasses
And my caffeine heart
Sadness is clean and crisp
Its edges will make you bleed
Prudence is to stay in the middle
And follow one thought at a time
Keep all the doors locked
And face the inner sound
You’ve heard it before
Faint, shy, and trying to hide
Is this life a rehearsal for the eventual loneliness?
Is this war a drill
For letting go?
The poet peacefully
disappeared
Into the light
The busy streets of exile
Are filled with our scents and loud music
The colour of Home is red and slowly vanishing
And we are no longer who
we used to be
(2)
A Butterfly Dream
By Eiman El-Nour
How long can love last ?
How strong can a fatigued heart beat?
The love that feeds on the past
The heart that exists on memories
I try to paint a butterfly
Or write a joyful verse
Or make baobab juice
To have with my friends
I take a deep sigh
And close my eyes
I know I am all alone
We calm our souls
With visions of home
Sing silent songs
Share wordless talks
And pray for the dream to last
Till tomorrow
(3)
This Land is Ours
By Eiman El-Nour
I watch your face
I know that you can see
Even with closed eyes
I feel your thoughts
In your rhythmic breathing
I pray for a miracle
Are you faking this tragic state?
To punish your prodigal sons?
To shake up your sleeping daughters?
Have we failed you this much!
What good can sorrow bring?
The promise of water
Will not quench your thirst
Our trickling tears
Will not moisten your drying veins
I am the bearer of good tidings
My precious queen
We have prayed for rain
We held hands
And hearts
And whispered and cried
Then it came..
The sweet taste of heavenly nectar
We were drenched
Soaked and blessed
God is Great..
And this is only the beginning!
Eiman El-Nour is Associate Professor in English Literature at Neelain University and Ahfad University. She is also Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge. She specializes in teaching African Literature and her main research themes include African women’s writing, Sudanese literature and Sudanese orality.
Adil Babikir is a Sudanese translator based in the UAE and is the author of The Beauty Hunters: Sudanese Bedouin Poetry, Evolution and Impact. His translations include The Jungo: Stakes of the Earth, a novel by Abdel Aziz Baraka Sakin; Mansi: a Rare Man in his Own Way, by Tayeb Salih (winner of Sheikh Hamad Translation Award, 2020); The Messiah of Darfur, also by Sakin; and Seven Strangers in Town, by Ahmad al-Malik.