Reesom Haile, Four poems, Translated by Charles Cantalupo
African Leaders
All of you African leaders
And how many of you
A woman?
Hanging on the devil’s
Every word,
You take his wings
And soar like birds.
Circling higher and higher,
Closer and closer
To the sun,
You’re a speck
And won’t hear us calling,
“Come back, come back,”
Craning our necks
Until the fateful day
Your wings catch fire
And you crash to earth.
All of you African leaders
And how many of you
A woman?
Angel Fiqriel
Abducting brides? Passe.
These days you should pray,
“Angel of love,
With your bow and arrow,
Do you see what I see?
Please bring my love to me.
Empty your quiver.
Aim right for the heart
And open the bud.
Let it bleed,
Bloom and burst into seed.”
Love works this way,
Although the priest doesn’t know,
Hung up on Satan and the angels
Michael and Gabriel.
But if the priest asks, tell him
Your modern love poem.
If he asks about the part
With the angel who likes to pierce,
Ask the priest,
Is my angel, Fiqriel, as fierce
As Michael,
Who cuts off heads?
Tell the President
In America they say,
Dream and make
Your dreams come true.
They call it
The American Dream.
In Africa they say,
The President dreams
Everything for you
And calls it
The African Dream.
Cream of Africa,
Who dream
Of going to America,
Tell the President.
Shoot your own gun!
My son, my daughter,
Go west with the sun.
Her Picture
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.
Poetry
© 2005-2009 Per Contra: The International Journal of the Arts, Literature and Ideas