The Seated Woman: a Tuareg poem

By request, another poem by Souéloum Diagho. A few words of explanation: Diagho’s poems contain words with doubled meanings, especially the word “cour”, which can mean courtship or enclosed space. Boegiboe helpfully observes the French word “coeur” == heart seems present in some of his usages of “cour”, a point which troubled me, too. The English translation does no justice to the original: try as I might, I can’t capture what’s implied. He is a subtle poet.

The Tamashek tents are the heart of their culture: they are owned by married women. Their skins are dyed from the indigo in their clothing: they are known as the Blue People.

La femme assise.

Écoute le chant, murmure du vent,
la femme assise en face d’une dune attend
le crépuscule pour lancer son chant d’amour,
chant de plaisir,
la femme laisse couler la mélancolie de son cour,
elle rit, elle pleure sa joie, la peine,
le désir de partager sa vie,
elle cherche le chemin qui conduit à l’inconscience,
les ténèbres l’engloutissent
et les deux opposés se rencontrent,
l’inconscience et la conscience,
la femme cherche la lumière qui a nourri ses désirs,
ses formes caressent l’espace vide,
d’où jaillit l’oubli, univers brumeux,
univers paisible, les odeurs se multiplient,
les odeurs que le vent ramène,
sa voix du cour lui parle d’amour, amour profond,
énergie de vie qui passe par tous les paysages.
Paysages de joie, mélange des rires,
paysages tristes comme mélancolies.
La femme plonge dans le noir de la nuit,
comme seule amie,
la dune et les grains de sable
qui roulent comme des petites billes,
elle a peur de la nuit, peur de tout,
elle entend son petit enfant qui pleure,
c’est son cour qui palpite.

Il n’y a pas de recours sauf de prendre courage
dans les profondeurs de son âme,
elle caresse le sable doux,
mais peine perdue,
il n’y a ni coussin ni lit au loin.
Tout d’un coup, une lumière surgit et éclaire tout,
c’est la lune qui vient lui tenir compagnie,
la dune devient grande comme une tente,
qui a abrité toute la tribu,
la femme respire à fond et prononce quelques paroles,
tu es ma copine et un nouveau souffle naît,
une vie, un espoir de survie,
le voile noir se brise,
la peur se dissout et le cour reprend son rythme tout doux,
la femme assise attend le pilon
que brise l’aurore du matin
et se dit que la vie ne tient qu’à un fil,
quand le cour s’ouvre, il comprend tout.

The seated woman.

Listen to the song, the wind’s murmur,
the seated woman waits before the dune
for sunset to launch his love song
song of pleasure,
the woman is allowed to explore his melancholy court,
she laughs, she cries her joy, sorrow,
the desire to share his life
she seeks the path that leads to unconsciousness,
shadows engulf
and two opposites meet,
unconsciousness and consciousness,
the woman seeks the light that fuelled his desires,
their forms caress empty space
from which springs oblivion, the hazy universe
A peaceful world, odours multiply,
scent blown into in the wind,
his courting voice speaks of love, profound love,
The life force passing through all landscapes.
Landscapes of joy, the mixture of laughters,
landscapes melancholy and sad.
The woman is plunged into the black of night,
his only lover
the dune and grains of sand
rolling like tiny beads,
She fears the night, fears it all,
she hears her baby crying,
It is his beating heart.

Nothing to be done but to take courage
in the depths of his soul,
she strokes the soft sand,
but in vain,
there is no no cushion or bed nearby.
Suddenly, a light arises, revealing all
it is the moon come to keep him company,
the dune becomes as great as a tent,
sheltering the whole tribe,
The woman breathed in and spoke these words,
you are my baby girl and a new life is born
a life, a hope of survival,
The black curtain opens,
fear dissolves and the courting resumes its soft rhythm,
the woman sits waiting for the drumbeat
that opens the dawn
and says life hangs by a thread,
when the courtyard opens, he understands all.

_________

Images used with kind permission of:

Greg Bulla and Victor Engelbert