Pulse
What if I sleep in despair
And awake in hope
I am the leader of my generation
I am the singer of the voice of my epoch
What if
I taste the fruits of my daydreams
Only in the dreams at night?
What if
My eyes are soaked with blood
And sweat poured all day long?
I am the one who has not lost faith
In tomorrow’s light.
I know I am giving utterance
To the unrest around me
And stoking the fire sleeping within me
For the sake of tomorrow’s peace
And of tomorrow’s brightness
Countless vague ideas are seeking
Expression and their individuality
In my letter
The sun who has not yet risen in life
Except in the stirring of my brother
Burns inside me
That man is my heir who desires
Revolution but not mere destruction
In this or that hemisphere
Be it in Africa or Asia
Europe or America
I am the only hope still left
In this world for the hapless ones
Who are down and out
In hunger and unfulfilled desire.
What does it matter if
It is unripe and indistinct?
I am but giving voice to my Age
Moved to the heart in passion and emotion
I am the electric power
Born in this Operation Generator
I am a glow
I am not born like the lamps of old
Trusting in god to burn even in the open
I can make the molecule dance
And the atom sing
I can realize the progress of the world
And I shall have my triumph
Inscribed by the rocket on the moon.
What if my life-breath goes out
After lighting a thousand lamps like me?
I am the radiance of this Age
I am electric power
Born out of this operation generator
I am
The Revolution
***
1965