The tears from my birth pains
Created the Nile
I am a beautiful woman

from Nikki Giovanni – Ego Tripping (there may be a reason) on Rap Genius

An unending source of sustenance, the Nile River provided a crucial role in the development of Egyptian civilization. The Nile was an important part of ancient Egyptian spiritual life. The Nile was considered to be a causeway from life to death and the afterlife.

Up until this point, the sex of the speaker has been ambiguous. Throughout the poem, the speakers sex seems to shift suggesting that he/she is to perfect to be defined by sex. In this instance, though, the speaker claims to be a woman and discusses how tears from her birth pains created such a historic river.

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