Mon enfance

My childhood passed
From greyness to silences
From fake courtesies
Lacking battles
In winter, I was in the belly
Of the big house
That had dropped anchor
To the north among the reeds
In summer, half naked
But completely modest
I became an Indian
Yet already certain
That my satisfied uncles
Had stolen the Far West
My childhood passed
The women in the kitchens
Where I dreamed of China
Aged into meals
The men with cheese
Wrapped in tobacco
Silent and wise Flemish
And didn't know me
Me who every night
Kneeling for nothing
Plucked my sorrow
At the foot of the too big bed
I wanted to catch a train
That I never caught
My childhood passed
From maid to maid
I was already surprised
That they were not plants
I was still surprised
By these family circles
Strolling from death to death
And dressed in mourning
I was especially surprised
To be part of this herd
That taught me to cry
That I knew too well
I had the eye of the shepherd
But the heart of the lamb
My childhood burst
It was adolescence
And the wall of silence
Broke one morning
It was the first flower
And the first girl
The first kind one
And the first fear
I flew, I swear
I swear I flew
My heart opened its arms
I was no longer barbaric
And the war came
And here we are tonight.