Haitian Creole: Five Poets
Posted: October 22, 2011 Filed under: Creole / Kréyòl | Tags: Black poets Comments Off on Haitian Creole: Five Poets
Alexander Akao (Aleksann Akao)
Zombies Arise
Since I was a kid they’ve been choking me
They grab me, they stuff me into a barrel
Too small for me
They stuff me into a dart-gun
They squash me like a mango
They squash me like a banana
They refuse to let me open my mouth
To speak my mind
“You got nothing to say, you’re a kid !”
But when I’m walking I’m looking around
I see everyone at my side
Is in the same fix as me
They’re burying us all alive
They’re stuffing us in the earth
Like slaves locked up in a canefield
When it’s not a horsewhip, papa,
Making us walk a straight line
It’s a tonton macoute* gun
That gestapoes or SDs ** us
But this morning I wake up
With salt on my tongue
Nothing’s gonna stop me from speaking out !
(1980)
* tonton macoute – paramilitary force,
including Duvalier bodyguards, involved in
organized crime; terrorized the Haitian
people, committing many human-rights abuses
** SD – Service d’Information:
Haiti president/dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier’s secret police
_____
Zonbi Leve
Depi m’piti y’ape toufe mwen
Yo pran-m, yo foure-m nan yon barik
Ki twò piti pou mwen
Yo foure-m nan sabakann
Yo toufe-m tankou mango
Yo toufe-m tankou bannann
Yo refize kite-m ouvri bouch mwen
Pou m’eksprime sa mwen panse
“Ou pa gen lapawòl, se timoun ou ye”
Men lè m’mache m’al gade
Mwen wè se tout moun ki sou kote-m
Ki nan menm eta sa-a avè-m
Yo antere-n tou vivan
Yo toufe-n nan tè-a
Tankou esklav te fèmen nan jaden kann
Lè se pa rigwaz papa
Pou fè-m mache SS
Se fizi tonton makout
K’ap gestapo, k’ap SD nou
Men maten-an mwen leve
Ak sèl sou lang mwen
Pa gen anyen ki ka anpeche-m pale !
(1980)
ZP_Wilson Bigaud_”Zonbi”
Suze Baron (Siz Bawon)
They say
They say
human blood
enriches the soil
If it were so
if it were so
my friends
rice millet and corn
would be plenty
in Haiti.
_____
Yo di
Yo di
san kretyen
enrichi
latè
Si sete vre
Si sete vre
mezanmi
ala diri
pitimi
ak mayi
ki ta genyen
lan peyi
d’ Ayiti.
_____
Georges Castera (Jòj Kastra), born 1936
Blood
Let’s go see blood flow,
darling.
For once in a lifetime,
it’s not people’s blood spilling,
for once in the street
it’s not animal’s blood flowing,
let’s go see blood flow,
darling:
the sun is setting.
_____
San
An n’al gade san koule,
cheri
pou yon fwa nan lavi,
se pa san moun k’ap koule,
pou yon fwa nan lari
se pa san bèt k’ap koule,
an n’al gade san koule,
cheri,
se solèy ki pral kouche.
_____
Felix Morisseau-Leroy (Feliks Moriso-Lewa), 1913-1998
Testament
When I die, make me a beautiful wake
I’m going neither to paradise nor to hell
Don’t let a priest speak Latin to my head
When I die, bury me in the yard
Gather all my friends, make a big feast
Don’t go past the church with my corpse
When I die, everyone should really get happy
Laugh, sing, dance, tell jokes
Don’t bawl, yell into my ear
I won’t be completely done when I’m dead
All the places where there were great bashes,
Where people are free – they’ll remember me.
Testaman
Lè m’mouri, fè bèl vèy pou mwen
M’pa pral ni nan paradi ni nan lanfè
Pinga pè pale laten nan tèt mwen.
Lè m’mouri, antere mwen nan lakou-a
Rasanble tout zanmi-m fè bèl fèt
Pinga pase legliz ak kadav mwen
Lè m’mouri, se pou tout moun byen ge
Ri, chante, danse, bay blag
Pinga kriye, rele nan zòrèy mwen
Lè m’mouri, m’pa p’fin ale nèt
tout kote k’ganyen bèl banbòch
Kote nèg lib, fò yo nonmen non mwen.
_____
Nounous (Lenous Surprice), born 1976
If you want
Every time I see you
You always have something
That tickles the crotch of my pants…
If it’s not your breasts
Making “sparks fly”
Before my eyes
It’s your gilded pout
Sticking its tongue out to tease me…
If you want
One day
I can take my time
And sing a mass
Into your daybreak
Every time I cross your path
It seems you purposely
Get my “sleeping cat”,
My “wild horse”, stirred up…
When your hip-swing
Isn’t calling out: “sweets are coming”
To my tray of goodies
It’s your blesséd bonbons
Making my mouth of rainbows
Water…
One day
If you want
I’ll display the musical score
Of my body
On the naked piano of yours.
ZP_Wilson Bigaud_”Femmes aux fleurs jaunes”
Si W-Vle
Chak fwa mwen wè-w
Toujou gen youn bagay
Ki pou ap satiyèt gason kanson-m…
Lè se pa tet-w
K’ap fè “tidifevole”
Douvan je-m
Se dyòl dore-w
K’ap fè jwisans mwen filalang…
Si w-vle
Youn jou
M’ka pran tan-m
Pou m’chante lamès
Nan douvanjou-w.
Chak fwa m’kwaze-w
Ou ta di w-fè espre
Pou w-reveye “lechakidò”
Chwal bosal mwen…
Lè se pa deranchman-w
K’ap rele “ladouskivyen”
Pou machann kenèp mwen
Se bonbon beni-w
K’ap fè bouch lakansyèl mwen
Kouri dlo…
Youn jou
Si w-vle
M’a layite nòt mizik
Kò pa-m
Sou pyano toutouni kò pa-w.
_____
Reprinted from:
Open Gate: an Anthology of Haitian Creole Poetry,
edited by Paul Laraque and Jack Hirschman, 2001.
Translations: Jack Hirschman and Boadiba
Zócalo Poets 