George V Salutes Digna* Poem by Dr. Ahmed Gumaa Siddiek

George V Salutes Digna*
Although Othman Degina's men were equipped with very primitive weapon such as spears and swords, they won most battles against the British and the Egyptian invaders in the Sudan. Digna, a Sudanese leader of the Mahdi led a powerful army that invested Sinkat and Tokar, destroying Egyptian reinforcements for the former garrison on 16 October and 4 November 1883. On 2 December his men wiped out another Egyptian force near Tamanieb. In December 1883 Colonel Valentine Baker arrived at Suakin to march to the relief of the garrisons, but he suffered a defeat at El Teb on 4 February 1884.

I
What happened to you George?
The King of England
The King of Seas
The King of Land
To humbly stand
On such a poor sand?
II
His Majesty stately ship, dropped anchors on the Red Sea
To India, his majesty was on his way
But he changed his course to Port Sudan, on the Red Sea
To see, just to see
A Sudanese warrior, by the name of Othman
Known as the lion of the East of Sudan
III
So, his Majesty to Sudan made his way
And he came to Sawakin one day
And had a walk in the city
Escorted by her Majesty the Queen
And a school of noble men
To measure the Length and Width of his vast empire
Where the sun rises here, and sets somewhere
IV
Then the King asked his men
To fetch Digna to show respect
To the King of Britain and India
And the Dominions as well
His Majesty called the prisoner
To where they dwell
So, the men hurried up
To get Digna from his jail
And told him the royal tale
That the King would allow him, with grace
To meet His Majesty face to face
V
Digna was secured a prisoner in the jail
He was old,
He was sick,
He was weak,
And he was pale
But, still, still
Full with an arrogant faith
He refused to get to the royal place
'He is your king'. He roared in their face
'He has nothing to do with this space'
VI
Nevertheless,
The King insisted to see that man
With such a superego
So, to the prison, His Majesty, Himself had to go
Accompanied by his men
And her majesty the Queen
And all his royal kin
To see Digna, who was at his old age…
In the prison's cell, like a bird in a cage
But in fact, he was a lion in his den
Full of the dignity of the Bejja fighting men
Who had given great lessons to the British Empire
And who had broken the notorious English Square
VII
So, his Majesty insisted to see the man's face
But Digna refused to give him a face at all
Instead, he gave Him His back and faced the wall
Clinging to his copy of Quran, his holy book
And to the King of England He did not give a look
VIII
Then the King got out His royal sword from his sheath,
The King got out his royal sword flashing in the air,
Like a cord of fire, the King got out His royal sword,
He got out the royal sword,
The King got out His royal sword,
And raised it as high as he could afford,
As if to touch the sky
And then…
Saluted the lion of the Sudan in his den
As great men greet other great men
Thus his majesty left the prison, then
IX
Then the King recalled Kipling's words
That celebrated the bravery of the Fuzz-Wuzzy
Who broke the English Square
And gave an unforgettable lesson to the Squire
And the whole British Empire
X
As if the King was recalling those words
of Kipling verse
'We've fought with many men across the seas, ' **
'An' some of 'em was brave an' some was not: '
'The Paythan an' the Zulu an' Burmese; '
'But the Fuzzy was the finest o' the lot.'

'Our orders were to break you, an' of course we went an' did'
'We sloshed you with Martinis, an' it wasn't 'ardly fair; '
'But for all the odds agin' you, Fuzzy-Wuz, you broke the square'

Thus His Majesty left the prison, then
With the pleasure of seeing the lion in HIS den