"Choll Apieth"
    (black is beautiful)

   a Poem by Kola Boof

_____

In the river crossing and coming through us 

The egg has not drowned/Our mother’s long war 

--hand of Nhialic, The blood

In the river crossing

                 and coming through us

Behold today/ that cattle have no tongues

And that the earth is cold where Macardit tangles

in the raid of horses/ charging in our wake.

--we have lost our best son

--we, who bring the morning her spears

--we who are like birds/tired of the Crashing 

And have seen the Sky

itself

fall against our dreams

Choll Apeith, warriors!

In all my conversations:

the ones who are victorious...the ones

who are praying

Knowing that Papa Garang shall rise again

In the eye of our fists--the chant of our shouting

The Yoke of New Site/golden as sun and birth

This victory of the everborn's heartbeat...steadily rising

Be it on one foot--Garang

(be it on one foot)

Our hero of the landscape

In the river crossing and coming through us.

                                       In all my conversations--

Come through here...river

Bloody Cross and our father rising from it

to deliver this Everborn;

bring us your cattle and your courage--

bloody womb; our mother, the Goddess Sudan.

Enchant us this victory.

His place with God/And no more flesh.

Everborn the victory...and no more flesh.

Garang...Garang

our best son!

And no more flesh.

Bird of the Sky--black as all black put together.

And no more flesh.

We who give birth to you again--and no more flesh.

Kola Boof says: "“John Garang was a Dinka, a man of enormous kindness, honor and intelligence. He believed devoutly in the potential for all Sudanese people to rise and to join as one. None of the Arab leaders in Khartoum have ever had the vision and integrity that John Garang had. He was Sudan’s best son.”