Kinaxixi Kinaxixi

A poem by Agostinho Neto (1950) Trans. by Basil Davidson

Gostava de estar sentado I liked to sit

num banco do Kinaxixi on a bench at Kinaxixi
às seis horas duma tarde muito quente at six o'clock of a very hot evening
e ficar... and stay there . . .

Alguém viria Someone would come

talvez perhaps to sit
sentar-se ao meu lado to sit beside me

E veria as faces negras da gente And I would see the black faces of people
a subir a calçada going up the alleyway
vagarosamente leisurely
exprimindo ausência no quimbundo mestiço expressing absence in the hybrid Kimbundo
das conversas. of their talk

Veria os passos fatigados I would see the weary steps

dos servos dos pais também servos of serfs whose parents were also serfs
buscando aqui amor e ali glória seeking here love there glory
além de uma embriaguez em cada álcool. beyond drunkenness in every alcohol

Nem felicidade nem ódio. Neither happiness nor hate

Depois do sol posto When the sun went down

esconderiam as luzes e eu
iria sem rumo
a pensar que a nossa vida é simples afinal
demasiado simples
para quem está cansado e precisa de marchar.
they would light the lamps and I
would go off aimlessly
thinking that our life is simple after all
too simple
for he who is tired and has to walk on.