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Poetry

Kratos

From my face made puffy by the swelling of centuries my shithead laughter, I gaze at you from my manure where negro death unfolds in mass, crater bodies in rotten piles, pink abscess on vagina in bloom, smooth penis, stuck inert in the still pulsating throat of the latest cut-carved
On my pile,
Let there now be modernity,
Let there now be prosperity,
Let there now be liberty, I perish humus by my flesh

You may now develop, emerge, grow, increase, consume, see, you are
progressing, prospering, shining, dêmokratia, land of human gods
Now chant.
Dêmos
Kratos
Dêmos
Kratos
Dêmos
Kratos
Power of the people over the negro death
From the depths of the hold, dêmos
From the depths of the plantation, dêmos,
From the depths of the colony, dêmos,
From the depths of independence, scraping in the dregs of republics, republic of Negroes, independence my dear, dêmos,
And scrape the power
And scrape abundance,
The hemp of modernity
Luxury and profusion to intoxicate the nations.


©  Jean-Luc Raharimanana. By arrangement with the author. Translation © 2012 by Antoine Bargel and Alexis Pernsteiner. All rights reserved.

English French (Original)

From my face made puffy by the swelling of centuries my shithead laughter, I gaze at you from my manure where negro death unfolds in mass, crater bodies in rotten piles, pink abscess on vagina in bloom, smooth penis, stuck inert in the still pulsating throat of the latest cut-carved
On my pile,
Let there now be modernity,
Let there now be prosperity,
Let there now be liberty, I perish humus by my flesh

You may now develop, emerge, grow, increase, consume, see, you are
progressing, prospering, shining, dêmokratia, land of human gods
Now chant.
Dêmos
Kratos
Dêmos
Kratos
Dêmos
Kratos
Power of the people over the negro death
From the depths of the hold, dêmos
From the depths of the plantation, dêmos,
From the depths of the colony, dêmos,
From the depths of independence, scraping in the dregs of republics, republic of Negroes, independence my dear, dêmos,
And scrape the power
And scrape abundance,
The hemp of modernity
Luxury and profusion to intoxicate the nations.


©  Jean-Luc Raharimanana. By arrangement with the author. Translation © 2012 by Antoine Bargel and Alexis Pernsteiner. All rights reserved.

Kratos

De ma face boursoufflée des enflures des siècles mon rire enfoiré, je vous contemple de mon fumier où la mort nègre se déroule en masse, corps cratères en tas pourris, abcès roses sur vagin en fleurs, verge lisse, inerte plantée dans la gorge trépidante encore du dernier coupé-découpé
Sur mon tas,
Que soit maintenant la modernité,
Que soit maintenant la prospérité,
Que soit maintenant la liberté, je crève humus par ma chair
Vous pouvez maintenant vous développer, émerger, pousser, grandir, consommer, voyez, vous
progressez, prospérez, resplendissez, dêmokratia, terre des dieux humains
Scandez maintenant.
Dêmos
Kratos
Dêmos
Kratos
Dêmos
Kratos
Puissance du peuple sur la mort nègre
Du fond de la cale,  dêmos
Du fond de la plantation, dêmos,
Du fond de la colonie, dêmos,
Du fond de l’indépendance, à racler dans les bas-fonds des républiques, républiques des nègres, indépendance mon cher, dêmos,
Et racle la puissance
Et racle l’abondance,
Le chanvre de la modernité
Le luxe et la profusion pour enivrer les nations.
 

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