Monday, February 05, 2007

Poet translation of Manu Chao's 'Para tod@s todo,' who attributes words to Subcomandante Marcos, EZLN

The liberating troop
Manifest

no water

To the villages and governments
of the world:

Brothers/Sisters:

We are born of the night
and that is where we live
and that is where we die

in her

But the light is for tomorrow,
for mass

For all of those
that cry the night
for those that are
denied the day

For everyone
the light

For everyone
everything

Struggle
and be heard

And the bad governments
scream

survive

They will close their
ears with canons

Struggle to work
juste and dignified

survive

And the bad governments
buy from sell
the bodies and the shame

stuggle this
life

And the bad governments
offer us death
as future

Struggle
judiciously
for peace

Technique, earth,
work, bread,
health, education,
independence,
government,
liberty

These are our demands
in this large night

These are our
exigencies

5 comments:

Ted said...

beautiful.

Lorne Roberts said...

super beautiful. wow.

although ending w/ exigencies leaves me a bit cold. something shorter and more clipped might work here:

these are our: vows; meditations (not short, i know), etc.

this is our
prayer ???

this is our
struggle

this is our
bread (and forgive us our trespasses)!

Anonymous said...

Forgive us indeed, forgive us indeed.

Anonymous said...

I just watched blood diamond last night. this kind've fits, although in the movie's case we're talking Africa.

What's are exigencies?

Anonymous said...

An urgent need or demand.