Sinsibere

Sinsibere

Lend me a hand

Let me stand

Let me labour

The fruits of my labour

Sinsibere

The sweat of a labouring woman

Births pots laden

With songs, with life

With joy

Sinsibere

Drops of coins

In empty cans may

Shroud calloused hearts

But never quench want

Sinsibere

A stick to aid our rise

The stick to tread the earth

The stick to quench want

The stick on the paths of life

Sinsibere

Stone me not with coins

Let me stand

Let me labour

Let me celebrate

The fruits of my labour

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Note 

Sinsibere is a Bambara word, meaning the support that one needs to start something. This poem was inspired by contrasting the active work of the women in the Sinsibere Cooperative at Bougoula to the urban poor extending empty bowls for alms. Written in a car on the streets of Bamako – 01.03.2016