THE WORLD IS DREAMING

THE WORLD IS DREAMING
Louis Gakumba



The world has gone to sleep
while death and rape
burns and furls the Congo---
With pain in silence,
poverty and slow death,
this is not what we chose –

The world has gone to sleep.

Everyone is dreaming
dreams of wonders
and wanderers here and there
in search of peace –

The world has gone to sleep.

I am standing on the edges
of a country torn by war
Where hunger sucks blood
From thin bodies --
Where children cry --
Where tears dry in the eyes of elders --
Where women wail no more.

The world has gone to sleep.

Everyone is dreaming.
The world is dreaming.
We are dying
as we are dreaming.

The world has gone to sleep.