Kojina Mbua
Finally, there is silence.
Finally, there is silence
in the bend.
The waves bring back three bodies,
the ocean's heart glitters with impatience
Struck down in the first hours
O my rebel brothers.
I will make a grave for you
in my memory of a mute Cabinda man.
Finally, there is silence
in the bend.
Finally, there is silence.
Igana
When the paths are wiped away
I recreate the savannah routes
with the dust of the palms
of my bloody hands.
What do you want to say? Ah, I find again
the voice of this God of death who
was lying dormant in me.
But I am more than Ngondo Moyula
In the shadow of the magic mountain,
My nights are peopled with dead tribes
I am Ngaka Nzueka*
.
Cabinda standing.
*The new God of life
Kougbô da kou
I walk backwards
Along the walkway of the living
A nail, a nail for my palm.
O that I grasp the falsehood
And that the hammer scourges my heart
Of the Cabinda people from Mayumba
The ocean is silent
And the waves carry offshore
My twisted hope,
my Cabinda dignity,
that walks backwards.
___________
Landa wo is an Afro French poet with roots in Angola and Cabinda. He has been awarded or placed for the 2023 Patrick Kavanagh poetry award, 2014 Gregory O'Donoghue International Poetry Competition, 2007 Winner Metro Eireann Writing competition, 2006 Winner Éist Poetry competition among others.
Comments