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A Scream

A scream
It would be necessary
if it were possible
To write a history hard as steel
or as the African diamonds
That shame human existence
Just as the Europeans were astonished
to discover that the «Indians»
Were not ashamed of their nudity
because to them «face is everything»
The strangeness is now to see
that shame is no more
For there are no more faces,
only masks.
It would also be necessary
if it were possible
To read this history
and understand
And then act
But how can I write it
when words are always others’?
How can I understand a word
when its only meaning is a price?
Ana how can I act
when there are no longer any means?
In the heart of Europe
a small Austrian town
like El Alto in the Andes
And in the mines of Congo or Nanling
in Trenchtown and by Ganges’ shore
let everything be known
All that remains is the Faith
our greatest blessing
our greatest curse
Of the diamond-hard history
there remains a scream
that shakes the faith
But will there still be ears?

to Robert Sutterlutti (1957-2009)
in memoriam

Poem by Orlando Costa (Brazil)

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