I wrote to Photo Studio
In The Hague,
Dear Photographer:
Make a portrait
Of my Eritrea –
An African,
But she won’t blacken your lens.
Fresh skin
Full blooded and brown,
She glistens.
Her teeth and wide eyes
Gleam.
I want her head to toe,
The whole body,
Not one of your Mona Lisas.
Forget the Venus de Milo.
Reveal the beauty
Of her hands
And her figure
As she stands,
Crushes a snake
With her heel
Like Mother Mary
And looks at me.
Also show how colors flash
From her dress
With her shawl, kerchief and sash.
Patience, Photo Lucas.
Patience, Foto Zula.
She’s in Europe now,
But someday in Asmara,
Ambling on Liberation Avenue,
She’ll come to you
For her picture.
Reesom Haile (1946 - 2003) Eritrea
Translated by Charles Cantalupo
Source: Per Contra
From: We Invented the Wheel: Poems by Reesom Haile. English Translations with Charles Cantalupo (The Red Sea Press, 2002).
In The Hague,
Dear Photographer:
Make a portrait
Of my Eritrea –
An African,
But she won’t blacken your lens.
Fresh skin
Full blooded and brown,
She glistens.
Her teeth and wide eyes
Gleam.
I want her head to toe,
The whole body,
Not one of your Mona Lisas.
Forget the Venus de Milo.
Reveal the beauty
Of her hands
And her figure
As she stands,
Crushes a snake
With her heel
Like Mother Mary
And looks at me.
Also show how colors flash
From her dress
With her shawl, kerchief and sash.
Patience, Photo Lucas.
Patience, Foto Zula.
She’s in Europe now,
But someday in Asmara,
Ambling on Liberation Avenue,
She’ll come to you
For her picture.
Reesom Haile (1946 - 2003) Eritrea
Translated by Charles Cantalupo
Source: Per Contra
From: We Invented the Wheel: Poems by Reesom Haile. English Translations with Charles Cantalupo (The Red Sea Press, 2002).
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