Loser of Everything

[Mazi Alvan Ikoku]

The sun used to laugh in my hut
And my women were lovely and lissom
Like palms in the evening breeze.
My children would glibe over the mighty river
Of deadly depths
And my canoes would battle with crocodiles.
The motherly moon accompanied our dances
The heavy frantic rhythm of the tomtom,
Tomtom of joy, tomtom of carefree life
Amid the fires of liberty.

Then one day, Silence...
It seemed the rays of the sun went out
In my hut empty of meaning.
My women crushed their painted mouths
On the thin hard lips of steel-eyed conquerors
And my children left their peaceful nakedness
For the uniform of iron and blood.
Your voice went out too
The irons of slavery tore my heart to pieces
Tomtoms of my nights, tomtoms of my fathers.

DAVID DIOP