Lunch Ticket
  • Current Issue
  • Archive
    • Issues Archive
      • Issue 21: Summer/Fall 2022
      • Issue 20: Winter/Spring 2022
      • Issue 19: Summer/Fall 2021
      • Issue 18: Winter/Spring 2021
      • Issue 17: Summer/Fall 2020
      • Issue 16: Winter/Spring 2020
      • Issue 15: Summer/Fall 2019
      • Issue 14: Winter/Spring 2019
      • Issue 13: Summer/Fall 2018
      • Issue 12: Winter/Spring 2018
      • Issue 11: Summer/Fall 2017
      • Issue 10: Winter/Spring 2017
      • Issue 9: Summer/Fall 2016
      • Issue 8: Winter/Spring 2016
      • Issue 7: Summer/Fall 2015
      • Issue 6: Winter/Spring 2015
      • Issue 5: Summer/Fall 2014
      • Issue 4: Winter/Spring 2014
      • Issue 3: Summer/Fall 2013
      • Issue 2: Winter/Spring 2013
      • Issue 1: Spring 2012
    • Genre Archive
      • Creative Nonfiction
      • Essays
      • Fiction
      • Flash Prose
      • Interviews
      • Lunch Specials
      • Poetry
      • Translation
      • Visual Art
      • Writing for Young People
  • About
    • Mission Statement
    • Lunch Ticket Staff
      • Issue 21: Summer/Fall 2022
      • Issue 20: Winter/Spring 2022
      • Issue 19: Summer/Fall 2021
      • Issue 18: Winter/Spring 2021
      • Issue 17: Summer/Fall 2020
      • Issue 16: Winter/Spring 2020
      • Issue 15: Summer/Fall 2019
      • Issue 14: Winter/Spring 2019
      • Issue 13: Summer/Fall 2018
      • Issue 12: Winter/Spring 2018
      • Issue 11: Summer/Fall 2017
      • Issue 10: Winter/Spring 2017
      • Issue 9: Summer/Fall 2016
      • Issue 8: Winter/Spring 2016
      • Issue 7: Summer/Fall 2015
      • Issue 6: Winter/Spring 2015
      • Issue 5: Summer/Fall 2014
      • Issue 4: Winter/Spring 2014
      • Issue 3: Summer/Fall 2013
      • Issue 2: Winter/Spring 2013
      • Issue 1: Spring 2012
    • Achievements
    • Community
    • Contact
  • Weekly Content
    • Friday Lunch Blog
    • Midnight Snack
    • Amuse-Bouche
    • School Lunch
  • Contests
    • Diana Woods Award in CNF
      • Issue 21: Summer/Fall 2022
      • Issue 20: Winter/Spring 2022
      • Issue 19: Summer/Fall 2021
      • Issue 18: Winter/Spring 2021
      • Issue 17: Summer/Fall 2020
      • Issue 16: Winter/Spring 2020
      • Issue 15: Summer/Fall 2019
      • Issue 14: Winter/Spring 2019
      • Issue 13: Summer/Fall 2018
      • Issue 12: Winter/Spring 2018
      • Issue 11: Summer/Fall 2017
      • Issue 10: Winter/Spring 2017
      • Issue 9: Summer/Fall 2016
      • Issue 8: Winter/Spring 2016
      • Issue 7: Summer/Fall 2015
      • Issue 6: Winter/Spring 2015
      • Issue 5: Summer/Fall 2014
      • Issue 4: Winter/Spring 2014
      • Issue 3: Summer/Fall 2013
    • Gabo Prize in Translation
      • Issue 21: Summer/Fall 2022
      • Issue 20: Winter/Spring 2022
      • Issue 19: Summer/Fall 2021
      • Issue 18: Winter/Spring 2021
      • Issue 17: Summer/Fall 2020
      • Issue 16: Winter/Spring 2020
      • Issue 15: Summer/Fall 2019
      • Issue 14: Winter/Spring 2019
      • Issue 13: Summer/Fall 2018
      • Issue 12: Winter/Spring 2018
      • Issue 11: Summer/Fall 2017
      • Issue 10: Winter/Spring 2017
      • Issue 9: Summer/Fall 2016
      • Issue 8: Winter/Spring 2016
      • Issue 7: Summer/Fall 2015
      • Issue 6: Winter/Spring 2015
    • Twitter Poetry Contest
      • 2021 Winners
      • 2020 Winners
      • 2019 Winners
  • Submissions
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

De roses et d’épines: English, French, & Portuguese

May 29, 2018/in Summer-Fall 2018, Translation, Translation / by Landa wo

[self-translated poetry]

Roses and spines

The widow’s shaven head
Welcomes the knights of the apocalypse

Sunbeams
Arrows of the day
The husband’s soul
Escapes from the body

The widow’s shaven head
Welcomes the knights of the apocalypse

 


Antidote

He was handsome but ”la fille de Joie” [1]
did not let herself go.

Love is a virus with which we inoculate
Ourselves when we have sold the antidote

to the enemy

 


Ignorance

Tchimpadou [2] !
I do not know!

I do not know the accents of my mother tongue
The scattered vocabulary of a language in the twilight of its time.

I do not know the name of the ancestors
From the father of Ngoumini [3] , to the brother of Tchilongo [4] , counter clerks of
the tombs
I do not know the dance steps of millet ears
Of a field yellowed with doubt
Counsel to tales, stories to legends
I do not know the ritual of the widow’s midnight bath
Even less the initiatory direction of the ballet of the circumcised.
I do not know how to interpret dreams
The limits of my culture!
Ah! This girl in agony
I do not know, I do not know yet
How to dialogue with the dead
These heroes pace the corridors of darkness when night has fallen
When the bitter song of a beaten cur rises.

 


Diwangou coffee

My ambition remains imposing.
It is from this that I learn how to cherish
The ground of men with sides lacerated
by the spiteful wires which trample this ground
which has already given all without complaint.

 


Sounds

With naked madwomen,
The clothed men
On the market square,
Take off the last garments of honour.

Strange wish,
Incipient happiness is stretched
In the plain.

Sing your sorrow.
The son in mourning venerates
The reflection of the moon.

The bad spirit
Communicates with its double,
The Ju ju man

The valley hops
In the throats of Diosso
The squirrel becomes wise.

Dance until death
Cry out when we can speak no more,
My language dies.

The day will be born on the hill.
The volcano will be quiet forever.

 

 

De roses et d’épines

Le crâne rasé de la veuve
Accueille les chevaliers de l’apocalypse

Rayons de soleil
Flèches du jour
L’âme de l’époux
S’échappe du corps

Le crâne rasé de la veuve
Accueille les chevaliers de l’apocalypse.

 


Antidote

Il était beau mais la fille de joie
Ne s’est pas laissée allée.

L’amour est un virus que l’on s’inocule
A soi même quand on a vendu l’antidote
A l’ennemi.

 


Ignorance

Tchimpadou [5]  !
Je ne connais pas

Je ne connais pas les accents de ma langue maternelle
Le vocabulaire épars d’une langue au crépuscule de son temps.

Je ne connais pas le nom des ancêtres
Du père de Ngoumini [6] , du frère de Tchilongo [7] , guichetiers des tombes

Je ne connais pas le pas de la danse du mil
Epis d’un champ jauni au doute
Des conseils aux contes, des histoires aux légendes
Je ne connais pas le rituel du bain de minuit de la veuve
Encore moins la direction initiatique du ballet du circoncis.
Je ne connais pas interpréter les rêves
Les bornes de ma culture ! Ah ! Cette fille a l’agonie
Je ne connais pas, je ne connais pas encore
Dialoguer avec les défunts
Ces héros arpentant les couloirs des ténèbres la nuit tombée
Quand s’élève le chant amer d’une chienne battue.

 


Diwangou café

Mon ambition demeure grandiose.
C’est d’elle que j’apprends à chérir
la terre des hommes au flanc lacéré
par les fils ingrats qui piétinent ce sol
qui a déjà tout donner sans plaintes.

 


Sons

Aux folles nues,
Les hommes vêtus, sur la place du marché,
Otent les derniers haillons d’honneur.

Etrange souhait,
Le bonheur naissant s’étire
Dans la plaine.

Chante ta peine.
Le fils en deuil vénère
Le reflet de la lune.

Le mauvais esprit
Communique avec son double,
Le féticheur.

La vallée sautille
Dans les gorges de Diosso
L’écureuil devient sage.

Danser à pâlir
Pousser des cris pour parler,
Mon langage meurt.

Le jour naîtra sur la colline.
Le volcan sera silencieux à jamais.

 

 

Rosas e espinhos

A cabeça rapada da viúva
Dá as boas-vindas aos cavaleiros do apocalipse

Raios de sol
Flechas do dia
A alma do marido
A abandonar o corpo

A cabeça rapada da viúva
Dá as boas-vindas aos cavaleiros do apocalypse

 


Antídoto

Ele era jeitoso mas ”la fille de Joie” [8]
Não se deixou levar.

O amor é um vírus com o qual nos inoculamos
Depois de vendermos o antídoto
ao inimigo

 


Ignorância

Tchimpadou [9] !
Não sei!

Não conheço os sotaques da minha língua materna
O vocabulário disperso de uma língua no limiar do seu tempo.

Não conheço o nome dos antepassados
Do pai de Ngoumini [10] , ao irmão do Tchilongo [11] , amanuenses
das tumbas
Não conheço os passos de dança das espigas de milho-miúdo
De um campo amarelecido com a dúvida
Conselhos para contos, histórias para lendas
Não conheço o ritual do banho da meia-noite da viúva
Ainda menos o sentido iniciático do ballet dos circuncidados.
Não sei como interpretar sonhos
Os limites da minha cultura!
Ah! Esta moça em agonia
Não sei, ainda não sei
Como dialogar com os mortos
Estes heróis percorrem os corredores das trevas quando a noite cai
Quando se levanta o latido pungente de um cachorro maltratado.

 


O café de Diwangou

A minha ambição mantém-se imponente.
É dela que eu aprendo a guardar no meu íntimo
O chão de homens com flancos lacerados
pelos arames rancorosos que esmagam este chão
que já deu tudo sem se queixar.

 


Sons

Com malucas nuas,
O homem vestido
No largo do mercado,
Despe-se das últimas roupagens da honra.

Estranho desejo,
Felicidade incipiente estende-se
Na planície.

Canta as tuas mágoas.
O filho enlutado venera
O reflexo da lua.

O espírito mau
Comunica com o seu duplo,
O homem enfeitiçado

O vale salta
Nas gargantas de Diosso
O esquilo torna-se sábio.

Dança até à morte
Chora quando já não podemos falar,
A minha língua morre.

O dia vai nascer na colina.
O vulcão calar-se-á para sempre.

 

Author’s note:

[1] Prostitute

[2] Female head of the soko clan. Tribe from the dense forest of Central Africa which inherited 1000 words at the start of life. Everyone who dies takes 30 words to go and speak to the dead. Each newborn arrives with one word. The Soko people will only find speech again when the original 1000 words are reunited.

[3] Ancestor

[4] Ancestor

[5] Femme chef du clan Soko. Une tribu de la forêt dense d’Afrique Centrale qui a reçu en héritage mille mots au début du monde. Chaque mort emporte trente mots pour communiquer avec les morts. Chaque nouveau né arrive au monde avec un mot. Le people Soko retrouve la parole seulement quand les mille mots d’origine sont réunis.

[6] Ancêtre

[7] Ancêtre

[8] Prostituta

[9] Mulher chefe do clã Soko. Tribo da densa floresta da África Central que herdou 1000 palavras no princípio do tempo. Cada pessoa que morre leva consigo 30 palavras para falar com os mortos. Cada recém-nascido chega com uma palavra. O povo Soko só voltará a encontrar o discurso quando as 1000 palavras originais forem reunidas.

[10] Antepassado

[11] Antepassado

 

Landa wo is a poet from Angola, Cabinda, and France. His work has previously appeared in Cultura – Jornal Angolano de Artes e Letras, Blackmail Press, Boyne Berries, Cyphers, Nashville Review, Scrivener Creative Review, Star 82 Review, Raleigh Review, Poetry New Zealand, The Cape Rock, and Weyfarers, among others. Landa wo has won a number of awards including first prize in Metro Eireann writing competition 2007, Eist poetry competition 2006, and Feile Filiochta international poetry competition 2005.

 

https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png 0 0 Korilynn Kessler https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Korilynn Kessler2018-05-29 13:00:172019-06-09 17:04:51De roses et d’épines: English, French, & Portuguese

Issue Archive

  • Issue 21: Summer/Fall 2022
  • Issue 20: Winter/Spring 2022
  • Issue 19: Summer/Fall 2021
  • Issue 18: Winter/Spring 2021
  • Issue 17: Summer/Fall 2020
  • Issue 16: Winter/Spring 2020
  • Issue 15: Summer/Fall 2019
  • Issue 14: Winter/Spring 2019
  • Issue 13: Summer/Fall 2018
  • Issue 12: Winter/Spring 2018
  • Issue 11: Summer/Fall 2017
  • Issue 10: Winter/Spring 2017
  • Issue 9: Summer/Fall 2016
  • Issue 8: Winter/Spring 2016
  • Issue 7: Summer/Fall 2015
  • Issue 6: Winter/Spring 2015
  • Issue 5: Summer/Fall 2014
  • Issue 4: Winter/Spring 2014
  • Issue 3: Summer/Fall 2013
  • Issue 2: Winter/Spring 2013
  • Issue 1: Spring 2012

Genre Archive

  • Creative Nonfiction
  • Essays
  • Fiction
  • Flash Prose
  • Lunch Specials
  • Poetry
  • Interviews
  • Translation
  • Visual Art
  • Writing for Young People

Friday Lunch Blog

Friday Lunch! A serving of contemporary essays published every Friday.

Today’s course:

Where Are You From?

August 5, 2022/in Blog / Majella Pinto
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC01302.jpg 1071 1600 Majella Pinto https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Majella Pinto2022-08-05 08:53:322022-08-09 15:56:53Where Are You From?

The Old Folks’ Home

July 22, 2022/in Blog / Karen Gaul Schulman
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Screen-Shot-2022-07-21-at-5.55.26-PM-e1658444219873.png 1608 1756 Karen Gaul Schulman https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Karen Gaul Schulman2022-07-22 13:21:012022-07-27 10:24:10The Old Folks’ Home

Peace, Love, and a lot of Loud Rock & Roll

June 17, 2022/in A Transfer, Blog / Sunee Lyn Foley
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/0F6155F4-C1C9-45E1-BE9D-CA099003FB8E.jpeg 513 474 Sunee Lyn Foley https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Sunee Lyn Foley2022-06-17 14:31:102022-07-18 17:54:10Peace, Love, and a lot of Loud Rock & Roll

More Friday Lunch Blog »

Midnight Snack

A destination for all your late night obsessions.

Tonight’s bites:

QVC-land

May 6, 2022/in A Transfer, Midnight Snack / D. E. Hardy
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Diana-Hardy_QVC_Feature_Photo.png 533 800 D. E. Hardy https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png D. E. Hardy2022-05-06 23:45:322022-07-18 17:54:56QVC-land

Escape Artists at the End of the World

April 29, 2022/in A Transfer, Midnight Snack / Lisa Levy
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/waldemar-brandt-eIOPDU3Fkwk-unsplash-scaled-1.jpg 1707 2560 Lisa Levy https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Lisa Levy2022-04-29 23:49:582022-06-13 18:34:12Escape Artists at the End of the World

The House in the Middle

April 15, 2022/in A Transfer, Midnight Snack / Megan Vasquez
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/alec-douglas-iuC9fvq63J8-unsplash-scaled-1.jpg 2560 1707 Megan Vasquez https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Megan Vasquez2022-04-15 23:45:322022-04-15 23:45:32The House in the Middle

More coming soon!

Amuse-Bouche

Little bites every Monday to whet your appetite!

Today’s plate:

My Mother’s Hands

August 8, 2022/in Amuse-Bouche / Annie Marhefka
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Annie_Marhefka-2-scaled.jpg 2048 2560 Annie Marhefka https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Annie Marhefka2022-08-08 11:55:122022-08-06 12:46:50My Mother’s Hands

Defy Gravity

August 1, 2022/in Amuse-Bouche / Megan Peck
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Megan_02_3-scaled.jpg 2319 2560 Megan Peck https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Megan Peck2022-08-01 11:55:122022-08-01 10:51:29Defy Gravity

Little Shrimp

July 25, 2022/in Amuse-Bouche / Karen Poppy
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Karen_Poppy_Headshot.jpg 800 600 Karen Poppy https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Karen Poppy2022-07-25 11:45:552022-07-25 11:14:12Little Shrimp

More Amuse-Bouche »

School Lunch

An occasional Wednesday series dishing up today’s best youth writers.

Today’s slice:

I’ve Stayed in the Front Yard

May 12, 2021/in School Lunch, School Lunch 2021 / Brendan Nurczyk
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/SL-Insta-Brendan-Nurczyk-2.png 1500 1500 Brendan Nurczyk https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Brendan Nurczyk2021-05-12 10:18:392022-02-01 13:24:05I’ve Stayed in the Front Yard

A Communal Announcement

April 28, 2021/in School Lunch, School Lunch 2021 / Isabella Dail
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SL-FB-Isabella-Dail.png 788 940 Isabella Dail https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Isabella Dail2021-04-28 11:34:132021-04-28 11:34:13A Communal Announcement

Seventeen

April 14, 2021/in School Lunch, School Lunch 2021 / Abigail E. Calimaran
Read more
https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SL-Insta-Abigail-E.-Calimaran.png 1080 1080 Abigail E. Calimaran https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Abigail E. Calimaran2021-04-14 11:22:062021-04-14 11:22:06Seventeen

More School Lunch »

Word From the Editor

The variety in this issue speaks not only to the eclectic world we inhabit but to the power of the human spirit. We live in an uncertain world. In the U.S., we’re seeing mass shootings daily. Across the world, we’re still very much in a pandemic, some being trapped in their homes for weeks on end, others struggling to stay alive in hospitals. War continues to wage in Ukraine. Iran and North Korea are working diligently to make nuclear weapons. The list goes on. Still, we have artists who are willing and able to be vulnerable with one another, to share stories and art to help us try and make sense of our world.

More from the current editor »
Current Issue »

Connect With Us

lunchticket on facebooklunchticket on instalunchticket on twitter
Submit to Lunch Ticket

A literary and art journal
from the MFA community at
Antioch University Los Angeles.

Get Your Ticket

We’ll keep you fed with great new writing, insightful interviews, and thought-provoking art, and promise with all our hearts never to share your info with anyone else.

Newsletter Signup
Copyright © 2021 LunchTicket.org. All Rights Reserved. Web design and development by GoodWebWorks.
Scroll to top