Imperial Ennui

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

His long sacred priesthood now absurd
even to himself
Rays of sun refract
Splinter in streams

Morning shadowed
Nightmarish, unexpected —
Remember always this bile
this fire in your mouth

Conflagration all across the city!
Rebels at every flashpoint!
               Organized
               Muscular
               Determined
               Indomitable
               Noisy
               Terrifying
               Agitated
               Overexcited
               Drugged
               Armies unexcused

                               Kandjars
                               Rifles
                               Bayonets
                               Crossbows
                               Tanks
                               Stalin’s Gold
                               Protective scarabs

               Lock and load: incisors, canines,
               molars. 

Ill prepared
The republican white blood cells are quickly overwhelmed
They decamp
They fled
They hunker down in the savannah
They leave behind
               Women
               Children
               All their riches
               All the people

I have heard that some cells
Could not escape
I even heard
The sores have
Killed them
Purely and simply
I bleed from the gums.

ENNUI IMPERIAL

Même Sisyphe s’en lassait
Son sacerdoce longtemps sacré est devenu absurde
à ses sens
Rayons de soleil rebutés
Eclat insipide-étriqué.

Matinée obscure …
Inopinée cauchemardesque
Souvenir biliaire exfiltrant à jamais
la libido gastrique.

Irruption de parulies rebelles dans la ville !
Elles ont poussé dans tous les points stratégiques !
            Organisées
            Musclées
            Déterminées
            Irréductibles
            Tapageuses
            Terrifiantes
            Agitées
            Surexcitées
            Droguées
            Armées sans excuse …
                        Kandjars
                        Fusils
                        Baionnettes
                        Arbalètes
                        Chars
                        Or de Staline
                        Amulettes
            Chargeant incisives, canines et
            molaires.

Mal apprêtés
Les leucocytes républicains sont vite débordés
Ils se défroquent
Ils prennent la fuite
Ils se fondent dans la savane
Ils laissent derrière eux
            Femmes
            Enfants
            Biens
            Services
            Populations

J’ai entendu dire que certains LEUCOCYTES
N’ont pas pu échapper
J’ai même entendu dire que
Les PARULIES
Les ont égorgés
Purement et simplement
Je saigne des gencives.

Excerpt from Parulies rebelles, © Editions l’Harmattan, 2007. Translated by Kazim Ali © 2016.