THE INVISIBLE TIGER

oh! they shake
the trees, the land, the children
the weapons, the germs, the precious stones
the sugar cane

oh! I took everything
and the television, the Bible
the cars, the moto-taxis
the prostitutes, their cell phones

oh! I walked away
from the lake, the worms
the invisible dragons, as you said
they spit fire from inside

I saw villages and villages
on the side of mountains, on the top
at the foot of our hills
our hills : the Earth is ours

I saw a child the day before he died
I saw the father
he was waiting
we were waiting, the kid was waiting

I saw my words leave, never to return
my ideas flew away
I was left with only the call of crows
how they talk or laugh, those birds

I made everybody laugh when I pretended
that I saw a tiger, here
in the hills of the Democratic Republic of Congo
a tiger, a tiger, a tiger

a health center
another health center
a vaccination campaign
a nutritional campaign

a distribution of non-food items
the distribution of medical drugs
the distribution of a few jobs
the distribution of papers

paper me
paper you
I am gone, now, flying away
in a paper plane

oh! the miles
they come inside of me
miles and miles and miles
of people, and their smiles

::: ::: :::

[Picture: The invisible tiger by reading_is_dangerous]