The Cry of the Bird - Nimrod Bena Djangrang

I wanted to be overcome with silence

I abandoned the woman I love

I closed myself to the bird of hope

That invited me to climb the branches

Of the tree, my double

I created havoc in the space of my garden

I opened up my lands

I found the air that circulates between the panes

Pleasant. I was happy

To be my life’s witch doctor

When the evening rolled out its ghosts

The bird in me awoke again

Its cry spread anguish

In the heart of my kingdom.

(for Daniel Bourdanné)

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Nimrod Bena Djangrang (born 1950) Chad

Translated by Patrick Williamson

Source: The African Book Review

First appeared in the anthology The Parley Tree, 2012