Saturday, June 28

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]

3 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 28, 2008

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  2. AnonymousJune 28, 2008

    To make a child laugh, a more precious gift than a diamond.

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  3. paper you, paper me, invisible tiger
    brings to mind the Chinese thought of the Paper Tiger, who appears to have power but has none.
    //I saw my words leave, never to return
    my ideas flew away//
    ~~~
    Some lyrics from a song called Paper Tiger:

    Looking through a broken diamond
    To make the past what it should be
    Through the ruins and the weather
    Capsized boats in the sea

    O deserts down below us
    And storms up above
    Like a stray dog gone defective
    Like a paper tiger in the sun

    We're just holding on to nothing
    To see how long nothing lasts

    There is one word to the morning
    There is one word to the truth
    There is one word back to civilization
    Well there is no word back to you.

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