OMN
Avant de quitter le Bénin, ma mère m’a donné un pagne, un tissu coloré. Chez nous, chaque motif raconte une histoire. Celui-ci a des oiseaux bleus et jaunes. Elle m’a dit : "Où que tu ailles, souviens-toi que tu peux voler loin mais tu as toujours un nid."
Je l’ai apporté avec moi aux États-Unis. Je ne le porte pas souvent, mais je le garde sur mon lit. Certaines nuits quand je n’arrive pas à dormir, je touche le tissu. Il est doux à force d’être lavé. Il me rappelle la voix de ma mère, le soleil brûlant de Cotonou, et la force des femmes de ma famille. Ce pagne, c’est mon morceau de Bénin. C’est mon souvenir de la maison.
Translation: Before leaving Benin, my mother gave me a pagne (a colorful piece of cloth). For us, each symbol tells a story. This one has blue and yellow birds. She told me, "Wherever you fly, remember that you can fly far, but you always have a nest."
I brought it with me to the United States. I don't wear it often, but I keep it on my bed. Some nights, when I can't sleep, I touch the cloth. It's soft from being washed. It reminds me of the voice of my mother, the burning sun of Cotonou, and the strength of the women in my family. This pagne is my piece of Benin. It's my reminder of home.
Je l’ai apporté avec moi aux États-Unis. Je ne le porte pas souvent, mais je le garde sur mon lit. Certaines nuits quand je n’arrive pas à dormir, je touche le tissu. Il est doux à force d’être lavé. Il me rappelle la voix de ma mère, le soleil brûlant de Cotonou, et la force des femmes de ma famille. Ce pagne, c’est mon morceau de Bénin. C’est mon souvenir de la maison.
Translation: Before leaving Benin, my mother gave me a pagne (a colorful piece of cloth). For us, each symbol tells a story. This one has blue and yellow birds. She told me, "Wherever you fly, remember that you can fly far, but you always have a nest."
I brought it with me to the United States. I don't wear it often, but I keep it on my bed. Some nights, when I can't sleep, I touch the cloth. It's soft from being washed. It reminds me of the voice of my mother, the burning sun of Cotonou, and the strength of the women in my family. This pagne is my piece of Benin. It's my reminder of home.