Alexandre Mexis, FRANCE
AFRICA
DISEMBARCATION
The Poems
AFRICA
Ebony
rather than ivory
like your skin
your hair, your eyes
but not your bones.
They remain white
washed up by your memory…
Africa
Argan
or cocoa
looted working body
mined entrails
raped for your gold, your diamonds
your people…
Africa with paradise forests
cursed animals
waterfalls of joy…
Ephemeral eternal Africa
sandy rock
on the sea
magician or witch
Africa
welcoming
dazzling
sleeping
under the sun of your ills…
AFRIQUE
Ébène
plutôt qu’ivoire
comme ta peau
tes cheveux, tes yeux
mais pas tes os.
Eux restent blancs
lessivés par ta mémoire…
Afrique
Argan
ou cacao
corps exploité pillé
entrailles minées
violées pour ton or, tes diamants
tes gens…
Afrique aux forêts paradis
aux animaux maudits
aux cascades de joie…
Afrique éternelle éphémère
roc de sable
sur la mer
magicienne ou sorcière
Afrique
accueillante
éclatante
endormie
au soleil de tes maux…
*
DISEMBARCATION
Pink Igoumenitsa
at dawn…
Eyelids still asleep…
Burning Patras
at the zenith
dry nostrils and throat…
Athens…
at night on the tarmac,
hot air slapping my impatient face…
Here or elsewhere,
by sea or air,
Greece welcomes me
and celebrates my senses
from the very first step…
Unique taste
rocking and capsizing
between return and
first time
like
every delight
of mastic…
DEBARQUEMENT
Igoumenitsa rose
à l’aube…
Paupières encore endormies…
Patras brûlante
au zénith
narines et gorges sèches…
Athènes…
au soir sur le tarmac,
air chaud qui gifle mon visage impatient…
Ici ou ailleurs,
par la mer ou les airs,
la Grèce m’accueille
et fête mes sens
dès le premier pas…
Goût unique
qui tangue et chavire
entre retour et
première fois
comme
à chaque délice
de mastic…
The Poet
| Born in 1971 in Saint-Etienne, Alexandre Mexis is a French author of poems, plays, short-stories and short-films. He is also a painter and an English teacher and lecturer, specialised in English literature.
His collections of poetry include Eros & Thanatos (2015) in reference to Freud, Un été grec (2017), a trip to Greece through poems, drawings and watercolours and Chimère.s (2019), words that sway and capsize to the rhythm of life, carefully touching every moment to better grasp its beauty. As for his charcoal and pastel exhibitions, MYTHOS dives into Greek mythology, NUDE, caresses the souls of legendary characters and MUSTANG.S, the eponymous title of his first short-film, explores the wildness each of us hides. In 2022, his new short-film UN RENDEZ-VOUS and his collection of short-stories Car l’essentiel est d’avoir pu se rencontrer, both lead us to ultimately meet ourselves… |