©DEV VIRAHSAWMY AND ICJM
PREMIE PARTI / PART ONE
ENN TI GRAP SONET NEN (SONEN)
A SMALL BUNCH OF DWARF SONNETS (DWARFIES)
KAN BOUZFIX ZAME BOUZ FIX /
STANDSTILL NEVER STANDS STILL
POURTAN PA SA
Seki ete, li pou ete
Seki toultan li finn ete.
Ki transforme to pe zaze?
Ouver lizie, aret reve!
Pourtan liniver pa aret grandi;
Galaxy toultan dir salam-mersi;
Kikfwa pli divan tou pou retresi.
IN FACT NOT THAT
What is will always be
What it has always been.
Change? Stop blabbering!
Open your etes! Stop dreaming!
And yet the universe is expanding;
Galaxies bid adieu;
And further on, the big crunch.
PETAL EK PIKAN
Dan mo lakour ena’nn pie fler,
Vantar, gayar, nene anler;
Dimoun dibout pou admire.
Pa bizen dir, grannwar gonfle.
Sa pie fler la ti bien malen;
Li ti konn kasiet so vilen.
Li vey tonbaz pou grif zanfan.
PETALS AND THORNS
In my yard there’s a flower tree,
Haughty elegance and la-di-da.
Passers-by stop and stare.
Needless to say, haughtiness bloom.
The flower tree’s mighty crafty
And hides well its unseemliness.
Unawares scratch playful child.
PIKAN EK PETAL
Dan mo lakour enn pie pikan,
Pa kone kot li finn sorti;
Pa kone ki li pe fer la;
So menas fer zwazo sove.
Enn gramaten, san ki atann,
Mo pie pikan met so palto
Larkansiel, later set kouler.
THORNS AND PETALS
In my yard there’s a thorn bush,
Heaven knows from whence;
Why and wherefore is it here?
It scares away birds.
One morning, O Lord,
My thorn bush puts on new apparels,
A rainbow coloured mantle.
BONER PEYNA LODER
Nou ti ena enn ti toutou,
Blan kotone fer sat zalou.
Ala enn swar li vinn bizar,
Li mord lame ki nouri li.
Enn sat maron pe fatig mwa;
Li fer dezord dan mo lakour.
Me … Lera aster finn maron.
UNEXPECTED BLISS
At home we had a cute puppy
With white wooly hair so rare.
One night it turned out weird
And bit the hand that fed it.
A stray cat roams about at night
And mucks around my yard …
Would you believe it? Not a rat around.
ERO ZOZO
Dan mo vilaz nou’ena enn maz,
Enn gran zimaz – foto partou –
Limem ero, limem zoro
- Mem so pete gagn gou ladou.
Depi enntan, erer babou!
Li santi kouma zak labou.
Ero, zoro, zozo zako.
CUCK-HERO
In my hometown there’s a new fad,
A giant size hombre – on all posters –
Hero, Zorro, all in one.
A lovely fart is he.
Not so lovely, yet!
He smells of rotting jackfruit.
Hero, Zorro, stinking cuckoo.
CHICHI MALANG!
Zezi anbras Marie-Madlenn
Lor so labous. Chichi malang!
Zozef anbras so fam Marie
Lor zot lili. Chichi malang!
Letansa lor tapi zepis,
Yoni akey lamour Linga
Dan so lakaz. Alelouya!
SHOCKING!
Jesus kissed Mary Magdalene
On her mouth. Shocking!
Joseph kissed his wife Mary
On their bed. Shocking!
Meanwhile, on a spice rug,
Yoni welcomed Linga’s love
Into her house. Hallelujah!
PA SAGREN GANDHI JI
Gandhi ji, pa bizen sagren.
Modi moji pa eternel.
Enadefwa li neseser
Pou fer bann tang trouv enpe kler.
Ler li sey kraz to leritaz,
Li pou fer nou kraz bann baraz
Pou ranz lakaz limanite.
DON’T BE SAD GANDHI JI
Gandhi ji, don’t be sad.
Cursed Modi is not eternal.
Sometimes he is needed
To make tenrecs see the light.
But when he tries to demolish your oeuvre,
He’ll make us smash ugly walls
To build humanity’s home.
SATYAGRAHA
Gandhi ti kwar dan enn pei
Kot tou etni ti kapav viv
Ansam; kot zom-fam tou kouler
Trap lame pou ranz paradi.
Modi so rev kouma Hitler,
Kot gran-nasion fer dominer:
Kraz fam, Dalit ek Mizilman.
SATYAGRAHA
Gandhi believed in a country
Where different groups lived
Together; where men and women of all hues
Held hands to build heaven on earth.
Modi’s dream is Hitler’s
Where power bullies
Women, Dalits and Muslims.
DAN PALESTINN
Gandhi so rev dan Palestinn
Se enn later kot tou dimoun –
Ki li Zwif, Arab ou Kretien –
Pa fann disan me aroz fler.
Me Modi moji finn swazir
Netanyahu. Kifer? Parski
Toulede eritie Hitler.
PALESTINE
Gandhi’s dream for Palestine
Was a land where all people,
Jews, Arabs or Christians,
Shed not blood but water flowers.
But cursed Modi has chosen
Netanyahu. Why? Because
Both are Hitler’s heirs.
YER, PA ZORDI
Yer to ti solider ar mizer;
Solider ar seki pe soufer;
Pa manze pou lezot gagn manze;
Axepte gagn kout fwet san plengne.
Me zordi kot to pe al kas poz?
Kot misie triyanger-dominer.
San kas kot to pe gagn to ti doz.
YESTERDAY, NOT TODAY
Yesterday you stood by the poor,
You stood by suffering mankind.
You went without food to feed others;
Suffered so that others might live.
But today where are you heading to?
To crook ’n hook’s den
Where you get ‘instant free delight’.
ARRE GANGA-JAMOUNA!
Arre Ganga-Jamouna,
Ki nouvel to douniya?
Yer to ti koz bel koze:
“Anou tou marye pike”.
Zordi to pe rabase,
To pe ramas to lakras
Parski to jos ramas kas.
HOY! GANGA-JAMUNA
Hoy, Ganga-Jamuna,
How you’re doing?
Big talk you talked:
“Come together, all”.
Now prattle-prattle,
You lick your spit
And fill your joy with cash.
LAVENIR DAN BOUZFIX?
Dan nou nik konfor ek sekirite
Nou priye bondie ki refiz sanze;
Pou prosperite kontign prospere
Bizen lavenir kouma lepase.
Kan fouka pe dir nou bizen sanze
Nou grogne, tente ek moulougande
Parski dan bouzfix nou lespri anpe.
FUTURE IS STANDSTILL?
In our comfort and secure zone
We worship the god-of-no-change.
Prosperity prospers
When future is past.
When a nitwit speaks of change,
We grumble, protest and conspire
For in standstill we trust.
DEZIEM PARTI / PART TWO
ANKOR SONEN / MORE DWARFIES
TOUKOREK!
Beton pe ranplas lafore baya;
Ekzotik pe touf seki bachara;
Nou dan bien dan lavi sivilize.
Letansa labank kont roupi kare.
Kot saler dan fon lamer?
Kot maler dan fon later?
Toukorek! To pa trouv kler?
ALL’S WELL!
The forest wild is now concrete garden;
Backward uncouth bows to foreign delights;
Blessed be life full of modernity
While banks neatly stack round and square gravy.
Heat from the depth of the sea?
Danger from the womb of earth?
Come off it, bloody asshole!
TOU KOU MEM KOU!
Pou twa li normal rant kot nou, pran tou,
Defonse, touye, explwate, kraze;
Met plat partou, montagn ek lafore;
Detourn larivier ek fouy trou partou.
Zordi ler mo rod kot twa enn ti kwen,
Enn ti bout dipen pou mo zanfan fen,
To arm to fizi, to larg to lisien.
ALWAYS THE SAME
So, it’s all right to barge in, take all;
Rape and kill; rob and raze;
Bulldoze mountains and forests;
Change river course and open craters.
Today all I want is a place to live;
Some food for my child
And you let loose your dogs of war.
BLAN-NWAR
To fer nou kwar blan pir ek prop;
Ki Zezikri ti blon ek blan;
Ki nwar mem kouler ar Satan;
Ki later blan samem pli top.
To bann zanfan, pa drol aster,
Ar mitrayez met partou kler,
Efas tas nwar fer maloker.
BLACK ‘N WHITE
You have us think white is precious;
That Jesus was white, blue-eyed, blond;
That black is Satan’s skin colour;
That white land should be kept pure white.
No surprise then that your children
With machine guns cleanse the land,
To remove ugly non-white stains.
EGOIS
To bizen disik, to fer nou plant kann;
To bizen dite, to fer nou plant pie;
Bizen fer lavant to moris maynor,
To fer ranz partou to larout rwayal.
Aster nou’ena kann, dite, lotorout
Me gardmanze vid e zanfan gagn fen.
Seki bien bizen, samem nou peyna.
SELFISH
You wanted sugar, so we grew cane-fields;
You loved your cuppa, so we grew tea leaves;
To sell your Austin, Morris and others
We built royal roads all over the place.
Now we have cane-fields and beautiful roads
But the pantry’s bare and kids are hungry.
What now we need cannot be found.
BRITANIA PA PE ROULE
Ti fer nou aprann Bondie raz larenn,
Britania roule, vag pa fer li per,
Dan tawa Lonndonn gagn bon farata,
Bolom Nwel Angle mari zenere.
Tousaletanla, to finn plen to pos;
To finn konfiske enn bout nou later.
To pa finn sanze. To konn zis to bout.
BRITANNIA RULES SWEET FA
We had to learn God shaves the queen
And Britannia never shall be slave;
The tawa of London’s good for chapatti
And English Santa has a heart of gold.
And in the meantime, you filled your coffers;
And robbed us of a piece of our land.
You’re still the same; know only your gains.
LAMONE PA GET KOULER
Lamone pa get kouler
Tank dan kofor ena plas.
Dan Kokaz ki’ena kokas;
Kaka vas ‘si bien kokas.
Makaw yer ek malbar yer
Ti santi pi me zordi
Roupi ena bon loder.
MONEY IS COLOUR BLIND
Money must be colour blind
So long safes have space enough.
Caucasian dough that’s the stuff;
So is sacred cow’s rough buff.
Yellow chink and brown coolie
Did stink then but not today.
Money, you see, is smell-free.
TRWAZIEM PARTI / PART THREE
POU DIR MERSI / TO SAY THANK YOU
PA GAGN DRWA PLENGNE
Polio ti may mwa; mo ti’ena trwa-zan;
Mo paran ti tris; trazedi manti;
Mama ti dir mwa kasiet lame gos;
Dimoun sikane; mo pa tro konpran.
Mo pa diferan; mo zwe gorlkiper;
Pedal bisiklet… Aster mo konpran.
Polio finn fer mwa vinn bien diferan.
SHOULDN’T MOAN
When polio grabbed me, I was three;
My parents were sad. What a tragedy!
My mum advised me to hide the ‘sick’ hand;
People would mock me and I didn’t care.
I was just like them; a good goalkeeper
Who could ride his bike… now it’s clear to me.
Polio did make me a special carer.
LAMOUR ZENES
Tilom ti’ena diznef an; trannsenk la sez an.
Zot ti fer serman ansam pou ranz enn fami.
Senkant wit an pli tar zot pe swagn zot zanfan
Lot kote brizan kouma dan pei isi.
Lamour zenes finn grandi vieyes amoure
E sak gramaten, ba la kouma premie fwa
E souvan tann zot dir, “Kontan twa, kontan twa”.
YOUNG LOVE
He was then nineteen and she was sixteen;
And they swore they would raise a family.
Fifty-eight years on, they’re still doing it;
Caring for children overseas and here.
Young love is now old amorous living
And each rising sun tastes the first-time kiss
And often you’ll hear, “Love you, love you, dear”.
MO LAKAZ
Lor mo lil Kreol lavi bat lezel;
Kanmem kas-kase, lazistis pa fel;
Demokrasi lok-loke me marse;
Nou de lang Kreol konn dir namaste.
Me enn anz modi pe fann lapipi
Pou met konfizion dan tou nou lespri;
Fer nou bliye kot nou lakaz ete.
MY HOME
On my Creole island, we spread our wings;
Though not faultless, justice works;
Though not full of beans, democracy copes;
Our two Creole languages rise skywards.
But a cursed angel now plants discord
And sows dismay of our own accord
To make us forget our real home.
MAMA-PAPA KREATER
Dan Gita-Labib-Koran mo trouv twa;
Dan pwason lagon ek lekim brizan;
Dan sourir zanfan ek Babam-Tata,
Dan fler ek fouzer, to toultan prezan.
Mem kan to kontrer rod fer so fezer,
Mwa mo peyna dout, so petar fizet
E ki Kreater pa per destrikter.
‘MAA-BAP, THE MAKER
In Gita-Bible-Coran I find you
Dear ‘Maa-Bap; in lagoon fish and reef spray,
The smile of a child and grandparents’ laugh,
In flower and fern, you’re always here.
When your opposite boasts of power,
I have no doubts it will misfire.
The Maker fears not destruction.
20.03.19