-Abhay K.
I have been in Madagascar close to three years. During this time I have interacted with a number of young Malagasy poets while hosting the monthly literary programme LaLitTana which I started in April 2019. I present a selection of poems of some of these poets in English translation here. Most of the poets have translated their poems into English themselves. Hope you enjoy this delectable taste of contemporary poetry of Madagascar.
EAT YOU
By Mose Njo
eat you
that’s what I’m thinking of
swallow you
chew you
my eighteen-letter lady
am so into tomatoes,
you know
want to swim into
a sea of tomatoes
then
open my mouth
then
kiss you
my eighteen-letter lady
please
don’t bite me
with those eyes
those
tiny
tiny
eyes
it hurts,
you know
look!
that smile
on your face
is just like
a knife
wait!
there’s some
blood
all over
my soul
please
do something
lick
me
suck
it
then
heal
me
from
you
my eighteen-letter lady
free
me
from
me
my eighteen-letter lady
BEHIND THE CLOSED DOOR
By Lalatiana Andréa
Frankly,
I am not already ready
to have this baby.
Just give me nine months
to be ready
One month
to ignore the fact
Two months
to achieve all my goals
Three months
to deny your presence
Four months
trying to fix
my sadness
Five months
to start cleaning
the mess
Six months
to rest
Seven months
to celebrate
your presence
inside me
Eight months
to calm you
down
Nine months
to wait
for your arrival.
LOVE LIKE WATER
By Na Hassi
Childhood memory
Lurking in my mind
Quicksand of tiny limbs
Toying with the waves
Dragged by the tide
Swallowed by the sea.
Trail of tears
That led me away
From ever even wanting
To get anywhere close.
I cast before you
The meanders of my mind
Seeking you on purpose
Hoping that your peace
Will flood and bleed onto me
To soothe away the creases
And heal the bitten nails
Gnawing at my heart
Keeping them from uncoiling
Thrusting me to the ground.
Keepsakes and souvenirs
Gushing out the windows
Landmarks and bearings
Wiped out of sight
Cleared from consciousness
Stolen and stored into amnesia.
Being without past
Soul filled with void
Raised by silence
Growing in emptiness.
I cast on your sand
The little I have left
Scraps and slivers clinging to my fingers
Gathering from your still waters
The trials you must have gulped down
Surmising from your glimmer
The darkness it navigates through
How I wish to be like you…
Water, you are.
Mother, you are.
Full of love
Today,
A new stream has begun to flow
Untangling the whirlwinds of yesterday
Relieving the trauma of that water-fallen angel
Making peace with the memories washed away.
Like chicken soup, it warms and fills my chest.
I cast into your sea
My eyes and brimming tears
To suck up your beauty
To fill up with wonder
Everything about you
Is a hymn to life
A chisel to the soul.
Water, you are
Mother, you are
Full of love
Where else but on your banks
Will I pour out the sobs and burdens of the past?
Whom else but the broth of your flows
Will I trust to tend to my scars?
Yesterday may have been quicksand
But today, the water has cleared.
Crystal reflecting my newfound peace.
Water you are
Mother you are
Eternal love
Translated by Johana Rasoanindrainy
BREATHE
By Tsiky Rabenimanga
Myriad possibilities
Even among the rocks
My cactus in bloom
… Breathe
Hopes of old
Distilled into the desert
Ever in bloom
Breathe…
NIGHT REMINISCENCES
By Andrianimerina Hobiana
And yet my nights …
Contemplating from the window the half-light blurs my eyes
or making me see in my mind’s eye a mournful twilight sky
Fathomless sigh
Darkening night
Night striping in most memories in the moonlight
Month after month, melted into year, my nights have been there
You’re the shadow in their dark
Flickering haunt emitting sound waves
through the thunderstorm
In the darkness, lightning flashing,
and I’m fantasizing about your face
Volatile image!
O Reminiscences! As stubborn as a mule about longing for « old days »
And quietly, your phantasmal image faded away
A soothing voice then made me drowsy.
IARIVO
By Riambola Mitia
Does Love exist over there
Which was born in the middle of the night
If so…bring me one
So that my melancholic heart could romance with…
As now
Coldness is felt here
and there
Sorrow drops like rain
And mixed with the song of Vepris’s leaf
A Song which passed through melted sky
And brought to me sigh,
longing and lure
Iarivo, Does Love exist over there
Which was born in the middle of the night
If so…bring me one
So that my melancholic heart could harvest their poetry reciting…
Because here is thirsty
Of hearing poet’s song
If not Iarivo Let your soul
resonate with me
To wake up my dead spirit.
THE WEATHER AND MY LOVE
By J.Nalisoa RavaliteraI
The weather is fine here but my life is dark
If your smile is not here to illuminate my thought.
It’s very hot here but my heart is cold
Because you aren’t present to erase my sadness.
It’s raining today but my mind is dry
Without your life’s dew to water my life.
It’s storming now but my soul is very quiet,
Remembering you, who still lives in my mind.
There are great noises everywhere but my home is calm,
Because I don’t hear your voice, my joy and my treasure.
The weather changes every time, but my love doesn’t change,
And I pronounce your name every time on my lips.
WHEREVER WE ARE
By Ampelagie
I talk to the moon,
The stars and the sun
To know how you are
I talk to the sky
The birds and the fly
To tell how I miss you
I talk to the plants,
The hill and the wind
To caress you where you are
And all the nature will be on our side
To cover our hearts.
Even if …
By Fanja Rakotondrainibe
Even if I know you are so far
My heart will continue to send you
Its tender message
Telling you something sweet
Something deep…
Even if I know
My hands will not touch yours
My heart can guess where you are
Not far from me…
Just somewhere thinking of me …
Even if I don’t know
When we’ll meet again
I stay strong and deeply hope
One day, I can sleep in your arms…
SUNSHINE
By Maholy Razanadrasoa
(…) sometimes you lose
Sometimes you win
But there is a reason for everything
Heart full of fear
Eyes full of tear
A little world decorated by a deep sorrow.
With a mountain of plan to be done tomorrow
He was buried into a hole of depression
A highest hill hides his destination
A peculiar rainbow passes upon his head
To discover the word written inside …
his crazy memory
And I was standing like a stone
In front of this bully
To raise his hand
And take him out
To show his destiny
Feeling depressed but raised again
Dancing in peace from the pain
He was falling down to the deepest river
Screaming hard like a hungry lion
I threw a piece of hope
Shaped like a stone
To strengthen his bone
Shining at the back
And help him to race with the height of the sky (..)
sometimes you lose
Sometimes you win
But there is a reason for everything…
MadagascarLitMonth is curated by guest editor, poet-diplomat Abhay K.
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 