Carry away my rooster,share it among yourselves,
      But give me back that knife-sharp beak.

Carry away my rooster, share it among yourselves,
      But give me back that cockscomb of copper,
      Those eyes red and black like kunni seeds…

Carry away my rooster, share it among yourselves,
      But give me back those golden legs,
      Those toes like sesame flowers,
      Those bright sugar-cane nails…

Carry away my rooster,share it among yourselves,
      But give me back that trunk like a little drum,
      That throat that sounds like a conch,
      That liver that blows like a pipe,
      Those guts that shape a lyre…

Carry away my rooster, share it among yourselves,
      But give me back those wings like banana leaves,
      Those feathers like coconut blooms,
      That tail like tender pine-apple shoots,
      That mating that scatters sparks,
      That cock-fight with its virgin valour…

Carry away my rooster, share it among yourselves,
      O, yes, you can have the rooster’s horns,
      You can have his teeth,
      Have too the rooster’s egg
      The rooster’s breasts as well …

Carry away my rooster, share it among yourselves,
But give me back,give me back, just my rooster, just.