Translated from the French by Kazim Ali
Author note: The poem presented here is from Emmanuel Toh Bi Tié’s recent collection, Parulies rebelles (Éditions L’Harmattan, 2007; As boils in the mouth, so rebels in our towns), in which he addresses the burden of rebel forces settling into towns during the First Ivorian Civil War (2002–2007).
Imperial Ennui
Even Sisyphus tires of it
