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3
A FARTHER WEST PT 1
THE INDIGENOUS
Look at this land
It’s all ours
As far as the eye can see
The fields, the rivers
The plains, the mountains
The grass, the sky
The air
It’s all ours
And we won’t yield it
The land we live on
The land we live off
The ground we sleep on
- A gift from our ancestors
And we keep on moving
Enjoying the wide, free, open spaces
Making the most of the earth
Working with the seasons
Hunting and picking our food
And moving back on again
Crossing the land further
Discovering new treasures
Leaving our pasts
Yearning for our futures
Living for the present
Our only possessions
Our bodies and the clothes on our backs
4
Warriors, mothers, wise men
All living together
All moving forward
Along with the wind
Free on this land
Where the wild horses
And buffalo roam
Where we can chant
And dance till dawn
On this land
We know no disease
No hunger
No sorrow
We live at peace with ourselves
And the world
We fear not, for we know there is
Something bigger than us
Bigger than the air and the sky
Someone who will protect us
In time of need
Someone who will guide us
When obstacles are near
Someone who will look after the land
We are so proud of.
5
A FARTHER WEST PT 2
THE IMMIGRANTS
Look at this land
It’s all ours
As far as the horizon
The mountains, the plains
The rivers, the fields
The sky, the air
The grass
It’s all ours
To conquer, tame and explore
The land we build on
The land we harvest
The land our cattle graze on
Our rightly deserved new home
And we settle down
With our wives and children
Making the most of what we have
But we know there is more
So we keep travelling
Pushing the frontier further back
Always expanding to the four corners of this land
Discovering new landscapes
Learning from the past
Yearning for the future
Hoping for the present
Our treasured possessions
Everything we own
6
Soldiers, women, fathers
All living together
Looking for riches
Searching for a better life
We want to be free men on this land
And masters of it
We’ll tame its animals
Get rid of the dangers
And make a place for ourselves
On this land
We will know no disease
No hunger
No sorrow
We will live
One out of many
We know there is something more out there
And that we have to fend for ourselves
Protect our air and sky
Their gods are fearful but weak
These are times of need
Obstacles are near
We have to fight
We need to protect our land
From their greedy hands.
7
WILD WEST/WILD DUST
A recently golden country
Where weapons lead blind men and
Soon it becomes so very easy
To kill in the name of defence
On a deserted battlefield
In the now silent prairie
No-one is there anymore
To close a dead soldier’s eyes.
8
Highway Series
- Highway Dream
- Highway Song
- Highway Call
- Highway Memories
- Highway Lament/Complaint
- Noyade 1
- Noyade 2
9
I. HIGHWAY DREAM
Every night I have recurring dreams
At the light of a flame burning bright
Coal silhouettes and bare shadows like veils
Whilst my hands rest softly on my chest
Against the lovely light
Against the velveteen night
I dream of hungry wolves
And repeated raptures
Of walking blindfold in
The forests of my mind
Hypnotised through a maze of marshes
I dream of red-blood sins and skins on skins
The fire of desire coursing through my veins
The dead certain promise of blood
Dripping on the strong roots
Of the old oak tree
The wine touches my lips and goes to my head
The taste of metal on my tongue
10
II. HIGHWAY SONG
Lying down on the cold grass and dead leaves
Surrounded by the cool, mossy earth
Mist hanging in the air
I close my eyes
The sunset sky bleeding behind me
The road like the promise
Of a long run
An escape
Slowly I let myself sink
And without knowing it
My hair is seaweed –
I have become part of
The dark water
Above and below me
The waves swallow me
And I feel like
I’ve come back home
11
HIGHWAY CALL
Water lapping in the
Pond and old
Wrinkled leaves in my hands
My hair stroked
By the cool evening breeze
A stone thrown
Makes ripples in the pool
Orange and
Indigo behind me
The smell of
Mossy grass leaves the taste
Of autumn
Slowly melting away
On my tongue
12
HIGHWAY MEMORIES
Mon esprit enflammé My mind is aflame
Les babines retroussées My lip curled up
Je suis prête à I am ready to
Mordre et à saigner Bite and bleed
Prête à me défendre Ready to fight back
Crocs et griffes dehors Fangs and claws out
Sauvage, le poil hérissé Wild, hair bristling
Telle que je suis enfin As I am, finally
Mon regard pénétrant et alerte My gaze penetrating and alert
Enfièvrée comme un cheval fou Fevered like a crazy horse
Je me rends compte I realise
Que tout ce temps-là That all this time
J’étais un loup sans le savoir I’d been a wolf without knowing
13
HIGHWAY LAMENT
Under the silk sky
Silent spells and chapel bells
Are calling to me
HIGHWAY COMPLAINT
Horses galloping
In a thunderous evening
- Wild waves of the sea
14
NOYADE – PT I
DROWNING – Pt 1
1. une jeune femme à la robe blanche, une lanterne à l a main
a young woman in a white dress, a lantern in her ha nd
2. – les papillons de nuit se raccrochent à son halo –
- moths hanging to her halo -
3. son corps frêle disparaît et réapparaît, se faufile entre les
arbres avec des mouvements fluides et changeants, s eulement
visibles du coin de l’œil
her frail body appears and disappears, edging in an d out
of the trees with flowing and quick movements that can only be
seen from the corner of the eye
4. pieds nus dans l’humus, les feuilles mortes craquèl ent sous
chacun de ses pas
barefoot on the dirt, the dead leaves crackling und er her
footsteps
5. de ses mains aux ongles fins, elle caresse les chên es forts
aux longues branches et aux racines robustes
her fine-nailed fingers caress the strong oak trees with
the long branches and the solid roots
6. son regard noir et brûlant erre, son âme se perd
her dark, burning gaze wanders, her soul loses itse lf
7. de ses lèvres pécheresses s’élance un appel, un sec ret
a call, a secret, leaps out of her sinful lips
8. sa voix d’éther envoûtante récite des paroles étran ges et
maudites dans une langue inconnue – une prière, une balade ? –
15
pour les morts et les vivants ; son chant monte ver s le
firmament
her haunting ether-like voice recites strange and d amned
words in an unknown language – a prayer, a ballad? – for the
living and the dead; her song soars towards the ski es
9. le vent fait voler ses longs cheveux noirs – l’orag e se
rapproche. La tension de l’air domine tout et la re nd toute-
puissante
the wind blows in her long, dark hair. The storm is
coming. The tension in the air dominates everything and makes
her all powerful
10. elle se sent toute puissante ; et l’étang est le se ul
refuge pour son âme blessée
she feels all powerful ; and the pond is the only r efuge
for her wounded soul
11. sous l’emprise de l’odeur des pins et des cèdres, s ous le
joug de son désir ravageur, salvateur
under the hold of the pine and cedar trees’ smell, under
the yoke of her ravaging, redeeming desire
12. l’étreinte de la forêt se referme sur elle
the embrace of the forest closes in on her
13. et sa nuit indigo n’a d’autre témoin que la lune lo urde
et pleine qui se reflète, calme et fragile, dans la rivière.
and her indigo night has no witness but the full an d
heavy moon reflecting itself, calm and fragile, in the river.
16
NOYADE PT II
DROWNING Pt 2
1. une jeune femme fine
a thin young woman
2. – l’odeur de l’iode imprègne l’air et le phare blan c à l’œil
unique se dresse, imposant –
- the smell of iodine permeates the air and the lof ty,
white lighthouse with its only eye rises -
3. le goût de soufre sur ses épaules mouillées se méla nge au goût
salé de sa peau
the taste of sulphur on her wet shoulders mingles w ith
the salty taste of her skin
4. pieds nus dans le sable qui s’enfonce sous chacun d e ses pas
barefoot in the sand sinking under her every step
5. elle chante, et on dirait que son chant se fond ave c la rumeur
de la mer comme un cortège de voix
she’s singing, and it seems her song is blending wi th the
rumour of the sea like a choir of voices
6. le vent étire sa voix comme un voile, la lisse, la tisse à
travers la distance ; il déforme les sons
the wind stretches out her voice like a veil, sooth es it,
weaves it through the distance, distorting the soun ds
7. et elle s’élève, s’envole, flotte au-dessus d’une m er aux
nuages fous
and the voice rises, flies out, floats above a sea of
crazy clouds
17
8. ses pensées galopent, sauvages alors que se déchaîn e l’orage
her thoughts gallop wild as the storm rages
9. et que les vagues, telles des chevaux fougueux, étr eignent sa
frêle silhouette
and the waves, like spirited horses, clench her fra il
figure
10. elle a oublié l’espoir, elle n’a plus de mémoire
she’s forgotten hope, she has no memory
11. l’océan accueillant comme une mère veut la réconfor ter
the ocean, welcoming as a mother, wants to comfort her
12. sous un ciel d’encre, sous une lune pleine et lourd e
under a sky of ink, under a full and heavy moon
13. fière face aux vagues, fière parmi les vagues, sa l ongue
robe noire flotte telle un parachute qui n’aurait p as su la
sauver.
she’s proud confronting the waves, proud amongst th e
waves; her long black dress floats like a parachute that
didn’t manage to save her.
18
THE DREAM OF A SECRET
Barefooted we will dance
On the gravel of our graves
Intoxicated by bitter wine
The wind turning my hair
Into a raven flame
Underneath the sultry sky
Stallions rush into the sea
Alone in the sand
The waves crushing before me
In a never-ending dreamscape
Solitary marshes and forgotten forests
The scent of cedars and silent leaves
It is always autumn when I come here.
The river doesn’t gush anymore
Past the pebbles and stones.
19
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My deepest thanks go to fellow poet David Randall C urtis
for his help and suggestions in the making of this
chapbook.
Thanks also to all my French-speaking and English-
speaking friends/poets/musicians/artists for their love
and support. Merci à tou(te)s.
Last, but not least, a big thank you to all the peo ple
who got this chapbook. It means a lot to me.
All pictures taken and edited by Janeczka Dabrowski .
Links :
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/janeczka
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Janeczka.D
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/janeczka/
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Janeczka Dabrowski was born (possibly) in a little Polish
village that no longer exists. She has successively lived in
France, Britain and the USA.
She is a poetess, video-maker, multi-instrumentalis t and full-
time brat. This is her first self-published chapboo k.
This collection of poems was written in 2007, but n ever before
published.
The pictures were taken between 2006 and 2010.
All poems and pictures © Janeczka Dabrowski 2006 - 2011