O You blood! Red and ruddy blood,
Magical blood in eternal warmth,
You are the cradle of life that you carry and move in our human bodies,
In the body of the animal and in the body of plants.
O You blood! Burning blood that rushes through our veins,
swelling our arms and injecting our eyes
to give us the strength and the rage to conquer.
O You blood! Red and sweet blood, spilled at the dawn of life.
Blood red, scarlet, blackened,
coagulated or diluted by the ardent sun.
The pitiless breath or the perfidious rain of the days of battle,
I adore you! You are and will remain eternal.
Étienne Goyémidé (1942 – 1997) Central African Republic
Translated by Bruce Levitan [using Google translate]
Source: Le dernier survivant de la caravane, Étienne Goyémidé, Le Serpent à Plumes, 2002
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