Yesterday I read my first piece of literature in French. It's a poem by Ivorian author Bernard B. Dadié. In the poem Dadié thanks the god for making his skin black.
I don't know what circumstances the poem was written under. So I am not competent to make a critical remark. Still I would have liked more if the poem was about the skies, stars or dreams.
I came across a verse on French Wikipedia and then found the complete poem here. I have translated it with the help of Wiktionary (English and French versions), all the while hoping that I wasn't doing a disastrous job. (^_^)
Je vous remercie mon Dieu
I thank you my god
Bernard Binlin Dadié
Je vous remercie mon Dieu, de m'avoir créé Noir,
d'avoir fait de moi
la somme de toutes les douleurs,
mis sur ma tête,
le Monde.
J'ai la livrée du Centaure
Et je porte le Monde depuis le premier matin.
I thank you my god, for making me a black,
for making me
the sum of all pains,
putting on my head
the world.
I took the world to the Centaur
And I have carried the world since the first morning.
Le blanc est une couleur de circonstance
Le noir, la couleur de tous les jours
Et je porte le Monde depuis le premier soir.
White is a colour that depends on the situation
Black is the colour of every day
And I have carried the world since the first evening.
Je suis content
de la forme de ma tête
faite pour porter le Monde,
Satisfait
de la forme de mon nez
Qui doit humer tout le vent du Monde,
Heureux
de la forme de mes jambes
Prêtes à courir toutes les étapes du Monde.
I am contend
with the shape of my head
been shaped like this on account of carrying the world,
Satisfied
with the shape of my nose
that had to smell all the scents of the world,
Happy
at the shape of my legs
ready to run on all the steps of the world.
Je vous remercie mon Dieu, de m'avoir créé Noir,
d'avoir fait de moi,
la somme de toutes les douleurs.
Trente-six épées ont transpercé mon coeur.
Trente-six brasiers ont brûlé mon corps.
Et mon sang sur tous les calvaires a rougi la neige,
Et mon sang à tous les levants a rougi la nature.
I thank you my god, for having created me black
for having made me
the sum of all pains.
Thirty-six swords have pierced my heart.
Thirty-six brasiers have burned my body.
And the cavalry reddened the snow with my blood,
And my blood made the east red.
Je suis quand même
Content de porter le Monde,
Content de mes bras courts
de mes bras longs
de l'épaisseur de mes lèvres.
I am even
Content at carrying the world,
Content at my short arms
at my long arms
at my thick lips.
Je vous remercie mon Dieu, de m'avoir créé Noir,
Je porte le Monde depuis l'aube des temps
Et mon rire sur le Monde,
dans la nuit
crée le jour.
I thank you my god, for having created me black,
I carry the world since the beginning of time
And my laugh on the world,
during night
created the day.
