Venice masks

Wednesday 30 September 2020

Dances of Yesterday - Antoine Abel

I still hear the staccatos
The extension of the sounds of the drums
The drums from the old days

Tuesday 29 September 2020

My son - Matthew Fakaia

 you my son
        you whiteman now
bring me no more ia
        no more here

Monday 28 September 2020

Total independence (National Anthem) - Alda Neves da Graça do Espírito Santo

Total independence,
Glorious song of the people,
Total independence,
Sacred hymn of combat.

Sunday 27 September 2020

Deus ex Machina - José Mármol

Throw the dice, Lord, your turn has come and it is winter. The trident is cornered, the mountains covered with a skin of ash.

Saturday 26 September 2020

Must Never Be In Vain - Dillon Ollivierre

When your voice 
And your choice 
Is being undermined 
By men with no spine 
Then you know, it’s time to rise up
No longer can you be laid back, no longer can you simply look on
The sacrifices our ancestors made 
The blood, the sweat and tears 
Must never be in vain

Friday 25 September 2020

Rain - Makerita Va’ai

Rain, symbolic of a loss
of friend or foe
an ally or enemy

Thursday 24 September 2020

Where did you come from - Ana Istarú

Where did you come from,
sleeping man.
What cloud dropped you,
what caravel.

Wednesday 23 September 2020

Oh My Beloved Land - Telstar Jimmy

Beyond the wide horizon
Lies my home, my country
Of precious rainforests and peaceful woods;
Of portrait landscapes and productive gardens,
Oh My Beloved Land.

Tuesday 22 September 2020

The sky - Filippo Ye

The sky offers hospitality to the clouds.
It is there where thunderstorms
and rainbows come.

Monday 21 September 2020

It’s Not Love - Ryna.S.

If you love someone because he/ she is gorgeous…
that’s not love...
It’s Infatuation.

Sunday 20 September 2020

Moroni my princess - Soeuf Elbadawi

Moroni, my princess
with poor feet,
catches a cold and gets drunk on
bad weather days

Saturday 19 September 2020

General! - Dadolin Murak

General!
We didn’t know
The dark affair of 30 September 1965
When you came
We were indoctrinated by your false history:
Cutting genitals
Slashing with razors, gouging out eyes
Joined the communist cavorting at Lubang Buaya9

Friday 18 September 2020

Dawn of my manhood - Ueantabo Fakaofo

The years of Childhood have ended, 
The constellation Rimwimata’1 is up in the skies 
Twinkling on the whole island at rest 
Laying in bed tossing and wakeful I waited for dawn 

Thursday 17 September 2020

Untitled - Manal Al-Adawi

We must wake up,
We must burn hatred and turn the page,
Let us hold our hands together and walk towards the awakening.

Wednesday 16 September 2020

News Of My Mother - Jean Baptiste Tati-Loutard

I am now very high upon the tree of the seasons;
Far below I see the firm earth of the past.

Tuesday 15 September 2020

Pre-Naivasha Days - Emmanuel Monychol

We used to fight flies and heat
In the bullet ridden grass thatched huts,
We lived in the hope of milk and honey.

Monday 14 September 2020

A Woman - Yeng Chheangly

I saw her 
In a dirty face,
She carried,
Many bricks on her shoulder,

Sunday 13 September 2020

Sonnet XXXIV: Recognition of the world's vanity - Francisco de Aldana

At last, at last, with so much time spent dying,
and with so many turns of life and fate,
so many times to every folly flying
with hopes to grasp it all, always too late,

Saturday 12 September 2020

Jakïp dreams about Manas - Anonymous

"Until Manas reaches the age of twelve,
Until he grows into manhood,
Achieves the stature of a brave man,
And takes a spear in his hand

Friday 11 September 2020

Wednesday 9 September 2020

The Vision - Armando Rojas Guardia

Unobstructed, the building
suspends itself in the still
timid light of dawn.

Tuesday 8 September 2020

I, environment - Djeri Wapondi

I, environment I moan, I agonize
By compassion, the ozone layer reddens, roars and shatters.
To save me and to save you,
listen and write down this ordinance and recommendation
for such evil is its remedy and action.

Monday 7 September 2020

Sunday 6 September 2020

Ode (from Job) - Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov

O man! whose weakness dares rebel 
Against the Almighty's strength, draw nigh 
And listen, for my tongue shall tell 
His message from the clouded sky. 
Midst rain, and storm, and hail, he spoke,
Around the piercing thunder broke; 
At his proud word the clouds disperse, 
And thus he shakes the universe:
 

Saturday 5 September 2020

The Blues - Léon Damas

Give back my black dolls
that they can dispel
the image of wan whores
selling love and promenading
on the boulevard of my ennui

Friday 4 September 2020

Jobs - Mubarak Ouassat

The platanus tree
That grows suddenly in the middle of the room
Bend on me
Like a beloved
I will care for it in my turn
Because I was once
A gardener...
I remember now my past because astonishment
Grows in front of my patient eyes
Because tonight's mysteries lock my eyelids

Thursday 3 September 2020

Thamyris to her Roses - Götz

'Twas the promise of my lover 

Ere you blossomed to appear. 

Wednesday 2 September 2020

Grounded - Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner

Anchor yourself outside her room. A jaki
to sleep on, a cooler for drinks. Hands flexed
and prepared to ground her in this life.

Tuesday 1 September 2020

A Leader’s Vision - Fawziya al Maskiry

From under the shade of a tree
He said we can learn
Old and young
Our Country’s future is his concern.