Translated by J. Bret Maney
kasala 78
the masquerade
or the rancid concerto
of the carnivores
of the carrion feeders
of the cutthroats
of the first rain
avid for blood and sperm
goes on forever
kasala 22
dreams nipped in the bud?
kasala 28
the masquerade
of the carnivores
blows up in our face
the masquerade
of the traffickers
incites financial collapse
in the sickly spiral
of this broken beautiful word
kasala 11
before memory begins to play
its tricks on us
shall we spike the djudju juice
with a little alcohol
or name off the entire genealogy
gunned down?
kasala 12
the diggers of Katekelayi
cut down in broad daylight
for having committed a simple crime
mining the precious stone
in their own country
drift in the streets of Grand Kasaï
kasala 8
not even twenty suns suffice
the night continues its frantic farandole
kasala 33
the Congo River is filled to the brim
with corpses and other seeming suicides
kasala 81
should Bende, the first Human, have to stomach
the whole mess?
If he’d known what was to follow from his scheming
would he have had the cheek to take Mvidi Mukulu, the Elder
Spirit’s measure?
kasala 29
Patrice Emery Lumumba
Rossy Mukendi Tshimanga
Floribert Chebeya
Fidèle Bazana
Thérèse Kapangala
the list of so-called suicides
is as long as the Mississippi
kasala 44
the night
still rings with the laughter
of the children of Katekelayi
their breath
their heaving chests
their seared voices
in a cerebral cacophony
blending with the uproar
of others who passed away during the full moon
Excerpt from ‘The Slaughterhouse of Dreams or the First Human,
Bende’s Error in Boycotting the Creation’
