OF THE AFFLUENT AND THE ABJECT

You own the luggage, I own their essence.

I am happier than you. 

Your life: banks, mosaic rosaries, elegant secretaries, cognac, golden spoons, hotels and cashes...

And my life: windy streets, owed bills of exchange, papers, rain, bread soaked in grains.

Inspite of that, I can lay my head on the pillow and dream,

As for you, only nightmares.

I saw trenches, huts, and camps,

Double what you have seen.. of salons, evening parties and luxurious restaurants..

And with these two hands, which have often scratched your soft fingers.

 

With these two hands, dozens of corpses were taken from the battlefields

I sold bites and newspapers on the sidewalks of cities.

I moved the boxes, in the stores, bricks and plaster, to the homes of the wealthy

I washed dishes in cheap restaurants

I worked in sewers, cafes, and bookstores for a hamburger roll...

I walk the streets back home, unlike you...

How often do you complain about boredom and satiety?

As you dig out your rotten teeth with matchsticks to extract... the flesh of others

I know that cologne flows in your veins

And in my veins are streets of mud

And the price of your shoes, equivalent to twice my salary from the magazine

Inspite of that, i am happier than you.

I can close my eyes to see a crowd of stars landing on the roof of our mud house

And that between my fingers a thousand springs flow

It descends into the villages. 

what do we do? we are the poor scattered on the sidewalks of cities

The poor who have nothing but loitering, kindness and love

How often do you look at us with contempt?

As you pass in front of us in your luxury car.

We fought so hard...to have a home, streets, sun, dignity, bread, and poems

And you traded greedily in order to have a balance  of cheeses and buildings

Inspite of that, you may buy castles, and air-conditioned apartments but you can't buy happiness & contentment. That's what's haunted you for so long..