Lush and luxuriant is the Valley of the Kings
bedding the longest river in the world, the Nile
fertilising the desert
with its providential waters
and luscious sediments

The Blue Nile: winding, fiery and tempestuous
hailing from the highlands of Ethiopia,
blue-black in colour
through the erosion of the fertile black soil
to be deposited further down the Nile valley

The White Nile: wide, calm, and unhurried
gliding idly from the south,
greyish in colour
transporting the light-coloured sediments
after bidding farewell to Lake Victoria

Separated the two rivers remain
for most of their journeys,
the impetuous Blue Nile thrusting forth,
the white Nile curvaceously meandering along,
both yearning for union

The city of Khartoum fêtes the wedding of the two lovers
the Blue Nile soothed, the White Nile enlivened
the river as one flowing: calm and tranquil,
roused at short intervals by the bubbling cataracts along the way,
the Nile in the end, liberated, merges into the embracing sea.

 

Photo by USGS on Unsplash