West & Highway Series

Janeczka Dabrowski

1

To Lena,

for her help, trust, and

friendship.

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West Series

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- A Farther West Pt 1

- A Farther West Pt 2

- Wild West/ Wild Dust

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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Highway Series

- Highway Dream

- Highway Song

- Highway Call

- Highway Memories

- Highway Lament/Complaint

- Noyade 1

- Noyade 2

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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 ? –

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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