Classic and Contemporary Poetry
EL MAHDI TO THE TRIBES OF THE SOUDAN, by EDNA DEAN PROCTOR Poet's Biography First Line: I have heard the voice of the lord Last Line: Shall rule in the earth alone! Alternate Author Name(s): Dean Subject(s): God; Islam; Muhammad Ahmad (1844-1885); Religion; Sudan; War; Al-mahdi; Muhammad Ahmad Ibn As-sayyid 'abd Allah; Theology | ||||||||
I HAVE heard the voice of the Lord As the Prophet heard, of old; For me have the blessed angels The Book of Fate unrolled; Gabriel, holiest, highest, Flashed to my cave, from the sky, And cried, as the dawn illumed the east, 'Wake! for the end is nigh! Speed! for 'tis thine to save the saints And their proud oppressors slay, And to fill the earth with righteousness Before the Judgment-Day!' Then he was gone as the lightning goes; And my heart leapt up as flame; And forth I rushed to the Holy War For the glory of Allah's name! And rippling river and rustling reeds And the wind of the desert sighing, Echoed his cry as I passed them by, 'Speed! for the hours are flying!' The sunbeams shone like lances keen Across the Meccan plain; The roar of hosts was in my ears, Their fury in my brain, And I vowed to the God of the Faithful His Prophet alone should reign! Now who is on the side of God To fight this fight with me, To break the ranks of the Infidels And hurl them back to the sea, And all this tortured, trampled land From greed and spoil to free? This land where the bitter cry goes up From even the lips of the dumb: 'Mata yathar El Mahdi When will the Mahdi come?' Who yearns for bliss in Paradise? Who fears eternal flame? Let him follow me to the Holy War For the glory of Allah's name! Leave your flocks on the grassy hills Of cool Atbara's stream; Under the palms by the lonely wells No more at noontide dream; From Nile's fair groves and uplands, From meadow and marsh and mere, Throng to the Crescent banner With lance and shield and spear! Come on your flying stallions From lordly Darfur's side; Bold from Sahara's burning depths On your swift camels ride; The sun by day shall bid you speed, By night each guiding star, Through the thorny wastes of Kordofan, The wide plains of Sennaar! And from Fez and far Morocco, From Yemen and Hejaz, For round the world to the Faithful, This fire of God shall blaze And from the realms of the Indian sea, And isles of spice and balm, Shall a thousand thousand hither haste For the glory of Islam! And as in the valley of Bedr, When the Moslems charged the foe, The angels stooped to the stormy pass And laid the faithless low, So shall they watch my standard, And all along our line Will hover their shining legions And the battle be divine! For Azrael, the Death-angel, With a banner made of light, And eyes that burn like the star of morn, Will lead us in the fight. And should you fall in the conflict, O glorious, glad surprise! White-winged camels will bear you thence To the bowers of Paradise! Up to the crystal fountains And the feast of the Tuba tree, The songs of Israfil to hear, The face of God to see! Allah! I long for the onset! Moslems! welcome the day When forth in the rosy dawn we sweep As victors to the fray! For fierce as the lion leaping At night from his woody lair; Dread as the hot simoom whose breath No living thing may dare; Strong as the sun when he mounts the sky To bathe in the western sea So fierce, to the godless of the earth, So dread, so strong are we! And by the soul of Mohammed Nay, by the Throne of God The Infidel and the Spoiler Shall into the dust be trod, And away by the winds of heaven As worthless chaff be blown, And the Prophet and true Believers Shall rule in the earth alone! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MYSTIC BOUNCE by TERRANCE HAYES MATHEMATICS CONSIDERED AS A VICE by ANTHONY HECHT UNHOLY SONNET 11 by MARK JARMAN SHINE, PERISHING REPUBLIC by ROBINSON JEFFERS THE COMING OF THE PLAGUE by WELDON KEES A LITHUANIAN ELEGY by ROBERT KELLY COLUMBUS DYING [MAY 20, 1506] by EDNA DEAN PROCTOR SA-CA-GA-WE-A; THE INDIAN GIRL WHO GUIDED LEWIS AND CLARK by EDNA DEAN PROCTOR |
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