If I were living in the country as a farmer,
Hard-working I'd be, come shine or rain,
Just elated to know that my bags of grain
Feed the hungry at home and elsewhere.
...
Si j'étais dans mon village comme planteur,
Je travaillerais dur, sous le soleil ou la pluie,
Très heureux de savoir que mes produits
Nourrissent les affamés au pays et ailleurs.
...
Si yo fuera labrador en mi lejana aldea,
Bajo la lluvia o el sol, yo trabajaría duro,
Contento de que mi producción alimenticia
Disminuya la hambruna en nuestro mundo.
...
To the youths of Cameroon on this day,
My plain questions and worries, if I may.
Yours is a heavy but stimulating legacy.
...
Aux jeunes du Cameroun en ce jour,
Mes quelques soucis, et sans détour.
Lourd mais exaltant est votre héritage.
...
A la juventud de Camerún hoy en fiesta,
Mis preocupaciones sin pelos en mi lengua.
Pesada pero estimulante es la herencia.
...
Gone are the days of songs and dances,
And all the moonlight ritual ceremonies
That used to be our major activities.
...
Finie l'époque des danses au clair de lune,
Et des langoureuses cérémonies rituelles
Qui meublaient notre calendrier annuel.
...
Ya se acabaron los bailes y los cantos,
Y las numerosas celebraciones rituales
Que eran nuestras actividades principales.
...
Take some time to see the Creation
As an artwork for you to perfect,
Maybe posterity will vindicate you.
...
Prends le temps de voir la Création
Comme un beau tableau à parfaire,
Peut-être ton mérite sera reconnu.
...
Toma el tiempo de ver la Creación,
Como una pintura que perfeccionar,
Quizá la posteridad un día te justificará.
...
When shall we reap the fruits of our labor,
In fair return for our sweat and endeavor?
After obtaining a hollow independence,
...
Quand verrons-nous les fruits de nos efforts,
Après des siècles de graves ironies du sort?
Après notre indépendance d'apparence,
...
¿Cuándo cogeremos las frutas de valor,
A cambio de siglos de sudor y de labor?
Después de nuestra falsa independencia,
...
Desertification causes great calamities,
Floods destroy entire villages and cities;
But the poor are to blame, cynically.
...
La désertification répand la désolation,
Les inondations ravagent les habitations;
Les accusés sont les pauvres, cyniquement.
...
La desertificación aumenta la desolación,
Las casas son destruidas por la inundación;
Los pobres son los acusados, cínicamente.
...
Humankind is endowed, like the human body,
With two legs to walk in perfect harmony;
But unlike its male leg, the female one is wounded,
And needs urgent treatment to play its own role.
...
L'humanité est dotée, comme le corps humain,
De deux jambes pour bien marcher équilibrée;
Mais contrairement à la masculine, sa jambe Féminine est blessée, et doit être soignée, Pour bien jouer le rôle crucial qui lui revient.
...
I am a Cameroonian writer, language trainer and translator from and into French, English and Spanish. In my student years I lived in England (1 year) and in Spain (1 month) .I taught in many government High Schools in Cameroon for 20 years, and also worked as Head of Department of English on the Bilingual Training Program in my country for 17 years. I enjoy travelling, meeting people and writing. As a full-time writer and freelance translator, I now live in Bafoussam-West Cameroon- with my family (my wife Antoinette and my daughters Fabiola and Elsie) .)
If I Were...
If I were living in the country as a farmer,
Hard-working I'd be, come shine or rain,
Just elated to know that my bags of grain
Feed the hungry at home and elsewhere.
If I were, like Pelé, a sports celebrity,
Driven by my fans' pleasure, not by fame,
Never defeated by referees' partiality,
I would strive to leave behind a good name.
If I were a smart and skilled physician,
Caring for the needy, my guiding light,
Would boost my passion and dedication,
Though one candle cannot cancel the night.
.
If I were a field-marshal in the Army,
From Sankara I would draw inspiration:
In Burkina he waged a war on poverty,
Just using ideas as weapons in that nation.
If I were a political tycoon or magnate,
Nelson Mandela is the hero I'd emulate;
He treated, after 27 years of imprisonment,
His judges and jailers with no resentment.
My job is simply to cater for learners,
Nurturing with knowledge their inborn talent;
Grooming them to be balanced and potent,
Whatever course of life they are followers.
Developers of minds are great teachers;
Without pretense, by word and by action,
They train people to transform the nation,
Whether they're soldiers, farmers or leaders.