On les tue par le feu, l’eau, l’électricité

[They kill them with fire, water, electricity]:

They kill them with fire, water, electricity
Those who lived far from springs
Dreaming of water all their life
Those who shivered, without coal
In Mouloud’s frozen sun.
Those who lay awake in the dark
Buried in a gloomy slum.

The first time he saw
A bath
Close up
Was the last day of his life.

Madeleine Riffaud.