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Free Verse

They sold my soul


Art is my part

Money is your giant bow
Jean of Arc is no longer alive but Jean of park is aiming at me
The devil's son rejoices to the melodies of hell from the table girls
Trades change based on their odds
Win-lose partnership
My lost sponsor, win!
My invention is bleeding
My creations move their actions
My heart and my mind bathe
Watch out, Mouna is leaving!
Warning! My art is leaving!
No they did not process my art; they sold my soul
They traded it in the dark like the slave trade,
Abused it many times in the night like the oil of the nut.
Warning! My art is leaving!
No they did not process my art; they sold my soul
After 91 years of life, they remove it with 91 saw teeth
What if our dreams ended like this?
What if our homeland no longer had a monk?
And if we had no more heritage,
What would be the harm tomorrow?
To whom the good of tomorrow?
Warning! My art is leaving!
No they did not process my art; they sold my soul
Don't abuse my reason
I ask for my house
Let it not rain or smoke;
To maintain my culture, I assume...
Whether they speak or remain silent;
Beyond the bread of painting I accept,
The strokes of the request,
The evils of the storm
Whether they walk or run;
To the rhythm of the percussion I dance to the sound of victory
Even if marginalized by the magic of the Elysée, I perse
I persevere towards a virtue without truth

Papa Ina no longer has a scene
His scenario went away enough now in Rio
Mouna leaves
My art is leaving
The boubou of my baobab babbles my beards
No they did not process my art; they sold my soul
They sold my more expensive flesh at auction
My dears, give me a chair
I don't even know where to sit
I lost my body, I lost my memory
I don't know who to believe or where to drink

No they did not process my art; they sold my soul

 

 

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vendeurdecola

Alidou Tougma (1992) aka Vendeur De Cola (VDC) was born in Burkina Faso and is based in Mali. Recognised for his educational achievements and social commitment, it is Alidou's love of poetry that bears witness to his work. A pen, microphone and podium are his tools and he has performed in Mali, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire. His awards include among other, the international Slam competition “Slam RIO” 2019, the National Poetry Slam Competition for the 45th Anniversary of Francophonie and the National Maxi Vacance Poetry Competition. Vendeur De Cola is the founder of the poetry slam organization "AM". He was the deputy director of the television project "National School Talent" and a founding member of the 100% Slam TV Show "Love and Words" (Amour & Mots). In 2018, he was appointed head of the jury for the 2nd edition of the festival ''Hello Vacances''. In 2016 he joined JCI (Junior Chamber International) in Mali and conducts several artistic activities with them. Since 2018, he has been involved in the UNESCO clubs in Mali, coordinating activities and leading art programmes. In 2019, he coordinated the Slam-Master Workshop at the 7th edition of the Hip-Hop Festival in Bamako. VDC does not stop dreaming despite the challenges in his field of activity: he created the slam poetry concept "Free Slam".

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This Poem's Voice

Your Poem's Voice

PersonalThemeAbstract

Personal artistic struggle mixed with abstract cultural/existential loss.

SparseMeasureDense

Dense layering of ideas: commodification, identity, heritage, displacement compressed densely.

DarkSentimentBright

Overwhelmingly dark: soul sold, art stolen, body lost, displacement emphasized.

StillEnergyExplosive

Urgent repetitive warnings, exclamation marks, visceral language create intense kinetic drive.

MicroLengthEpic

Approximately 50+ lines; extended meditation with recurring refrains.

PlainFigurativeOrnamented

Rich metaphors (giant bowl, Jean of Arc/Park), personification, allusions, vivid imagery throughout.

LyricVoiceDramatic

Pure lyric internal voice; first-person speaker confessing personal/cultural devastation directly.

Free Verseelegyprotestidentityspiritualmetaphorpersonificationrepetitionallusionenjambment

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