Moyra Donaldson: “I will grow a new tongue…”
Posted: March 17, 2012 Filed under: English, Moyra Donaldson | Tags: Saint Patrick's Day Poems Comments Off on Moyra Donaldson: “I will grow a new tongue…”
Moyra Donaldson
(born 1956, Newtownards, Northern Ireland)
“Exile”
What ground is mine
if I would govern myself?
Where is my country
if neither bogs nor gantries
speak of me?
Where can I stand
if I am not one thing,
or the other?
*
My grandfather knew where he stood.
Ancestors planted his feet
in fertile soil, green futures were
named in his name, possessed.
He preached their flinty faith
in mission tents, visions of eternal life
on soft Ulster evenings,
*
But there was no redemption.
Not in the land, or through the Blood.
Not in the hard lessons of duty, obedience,
with which he marked his children.
*
He is stripped of virtue,
his legacy a stone
of no magic, no transcendence.
No children ever turned to swans,
wafer remains wafer on the tongue,
and flesh is always flesh.
*
My two white birds will bring me
water from the mountains,
beakfuls of sweet sips.
I will grow a new tongue,
paint my body with circles
and symbols of strength, mark myself
as one who belongs in the desert.
_____
“I Do Not”
I do not confess to anything – so when I speak
of the small dark spidery creature
skittling across the periphery of my vision –
it proves nothing.
Meaning is just an accident,
soon mopped up – those letters
were written by somebody else,
and that suitcase under the bed
does not contain my heart.
*
I do not regret anything – so when the black dog
digs up the bones I have buried
beneath the brambles, deep in the wild woods –
I am not worried.
I have allowed no prophets
to enter my house, so bones can not
stand up, grow flesh and walk.
They cast no shadows
and I have nothing to look in the face.
*
I do not promise anything – so when I lie
down with you, close as a child,
intimate as a lover, tender as a mother –
it means nothing.
Love is just a trick of the light,
a misunderstanding.
No matter who you think I am,
when it matters most,
I will not be who you want.
_____
First published in 2006 in the anthology
“Magnetic North” (edited by John Brown),
Moyra Donaldson’s poems
are here reprinted by permission of
The Lagan Press, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Serious Humour north of 54 degrees latitude: Dan Eggs
Posted: March 17, 2012 Filed under: Dan Eggs, English | Tags: Saint Patrick's Day Poems Comments Off on Serious Humour north of 54 degrees latitude: Dan Eggs_____
“Spin Dryer and Washing Machine”
The spin dryer’s moved in with the washing machine,
they’re living together, you know what I mean, I believe the spin dryer’s
the clothes bin’s mum, he came out of her rotating aerated drum,
she takes the day off when the weather’s fine, then he does a line
with the clothes line, they live in an outhouse without any fuss, are
these household appliances quite like us? (The washing machine once
spilt his load because he was in fast coloureds mode).
_____
“Sunday Morning”
The cow in the field chews the grass, she never thinks about going to
Mass, the little bird sitting high on the birch, he and his friends don’t
think about church, the wasps in the dustbin devouring the apple, what
do they know about going to chapel, the elderly lady sits in her pew,
while her young son watches Kung Fu.
_____
Dan Eggs’ poems first appeared in the
2006 anthology, “Magnetic North” (edited by John Brown).
There are reprinted here by permission of
The Lagan Press, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Poems for Saint Patrick’s Day: Love and The Poet / Poemas para el Día de San Patricio: Amor y El Poeta
Posted: March 17, 2012 Filed under: English, Poemas para el Día de San Patricio: Amor y el Poeta, Spanish, William Butler Yeats, ZP Translator: Alexander Best | Tags: Saint Patrick's Day Poems Comments Off on Poems for Saint Patrick’s Day: Love and The Poet / Poemas para el Día de San Patricio: Amor y El Poeta
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)
“Memoria” (1919)
Una tenía la cara linda,
Y dos o tres eran encantadoras,
Pero cara y encanto fueron en vano
Porque la hierba de la sierra
Siempre conserva la forma
Donde se ha tendido la liebre del monte.
_____
“Canción de Muchacha” (1933)
Salí sola
Para cantar una canción o dos,
Se me antoja un hombre
Y usted sabe quien es.
*
Otro se apareció
que dependía de un bastón
Para estar de pié;
Me senté y lloré.
*
Y ésta fue toda mi canción
– cuando todo ha sido dicho
¿Vi a un anciano joven,
O a un joven anciano?
_____
“Canción para beber” (1910)
El vino entra vía la boca
Y el amor entra vía el ojo;
Es toda la verdad que sabremos
Antes de envejecer y morir.
Levanto el vaso a mi boca,
Te miro, y suspiro.
_____
“La Espuela” (1936)
Tu piensas que es horrible que lujuria y furia
Me adoran en la vejez…
No eran una peste cuando yo era joven;
¿Tengo algo más para espolearme cantar?
_____
“Un Voto Jurado en lo Más Profundo” (1919)
Habían otros – porque no cumpliste
Ese voto jurado en lo más profundo – que han sido amigos míos;
Pero siempre cuando miro a la muerte en la cara,
Cuando trepo a las cumbres de sueño,
O cuando me estremezco con el vino,
De súbito me encuentro con tu cara.
__________
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)
“Memory” (1919)
One had a lovely face,
And two or three had charm,
But charm and face were in vain
Because the mountain grass
Cannot but keep the form
Where the mountain hare has lain.
_____
“Girl’s Song” (1933)
I went out alone
To sing a song or two,
My fancy on a man,
And you know who.
*
Another came in sight
That on a stick relied
To hold himself upright;
I sat and cried.
*
And that was all my song
– when everything is told,
Saw I an old man young
Or young man old?
_____
“Drinking Song” (1910)
Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That’s all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh.
Poteen Drinkers by Brian Whelan_2011
“The Spur” (1936)
You think it horrible that lust and rage
Should dance attention upon my old age;
They were not such a plague when I was young;
What else have I to spur me into song?
_____
“A deep-sworn vow” (1919)
Others because you did not keep
That deep-sworn vow have been friends of mine;
Yet always when I look death in the face,
When I clamber to the heights of sleep,
Or when I grow excited with wine,
Suddenly I meet your face.
_____
Translation into Spanish /
Traducción en español: Alexander Best
“Los San Patricios” de 1847 / The “Saint Patrick’s Battalion” of 1847
Posted: March 17, 2012 Filed under: IMAGES Comments Off on “Los San Patricios” de 1847 / The “Saint Patrick’s Battalion” of 1847
Cronin, Sirr y Donnelly: Tres poetas irlandeses / Cronin, Sirr and Donnelly: Three Irish poets
Posted: March 17, 2012 Filed under: English, Spanish | Tags: Saint Patrick's Day Poems Comments Off on Cronin, Sirr y Donnelly: Tres poetas irlandeses / Cronin, Sirr and Donnelly: Three Irish poets_____
Traducciónes del inglés al español /
Translations from English into Spanish:
© Jorge Fonderbrider y Gerardo Romano
_____
Anthony Cronin
(nace/born 1928, Enniscorthy, condado de Wexford, Irlanda /
Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland)
“Profeta”
Cuando volvieron los rumores a aquel pequeño caserío blanco,
rumores extraños sobre sus hábitos y su discurso,
los vecinos sacudieron la cabeza sin asombro,
su madre estaba perpleja más que orgullosa.
Y entrando al anochecer a ciudades alumbradas por lámparas,
viendo la cálida penumbra roja detrás de los postigos,
permaneciendo despierto en cuartos extraños sobre ríos,
pensaba que sería como ellos si pudiera.
Y cuando al fin el poder cortesano prestó atención
y lo clavó más tarde en ese horrible sitio, supo que
lo que intentaba decir sería olvidado
salvo por algunos tan solos como él.
_____
“Prophet”
When word came back to that small whitewashed village,
Strange rumours of his ways and of his talk,
The neighbours shook their heads and didn’t wonder,
His mother was bewildered more than proud.
And coming into lamplit towns at evening,
Seeing the warm red gloom behind the blinds,
Lying awake in strange rooms above rivers,
He thought he would be like them if he could.
And when at last the courteous powers took notice,
And nailed him to that awful point in time,
He knew that what he meant would be forgotten
Except by some as lonely as himself.
_____
Peter Sirr
(nace/born 1960, Waterford, Irlanda/Ireland)
“Cuerpo y Alma”
Cordero desgrasado, mermelada de damasco, pan mojado en leche
mientras cebollas, ajo y jenjibre se suavizan
sin haber olvidado las bananas,
las hojas de laurel
ni dos huevos batidos en la leche sobrante
y todo para ser horneado, y servido
sobre una base de arroz azafranado
cosas que se consiguen
en la mayoría de los buenos kioskos, el único
todavía abierto, el triste negocio
que también vende zoquetes en pilas de a seis
grises, azul marino, negros, puestos en una canasta
como un altar cerca de las góndolas frías
donde manteca, leche, fiambres, queso
se ubican detrás de velos de plástico,
todo el negocio un altar para mantener la desolación
oh compradores de sombríos zoquetes y manteca
los insomnes que se levantan
y llegan corriendo al lugar, descalzos, sin aliento
señalándole cosas a la mujer sentada detrás del mostrador
delante de los cigarrillos, al lado de la máquina de la Lotería, cerca
de los bastoncitos de chocolate; y él que vuelve a casa caminando, cansado
desde la fiesta lejana, el cordero desgrasado, el fuego lento
debajo de la pesada sartén, el ajo, las cebollas, la luz
damasco, el pasto lechoso, los corderos danzantes
en los cráteres del planeta, las mujeres durmiendo sobre camas de jenjibre
entrando en un sueño para comprar
brazaletes, sedas, mermelada de damascos.
_____
“Body and Soul”
Minced lamb, apricot jam, milky bread
while onions, garlic, ginger soften
not having forgotten bananas, bay leaves
nor neglected
two eggs beaten into the remaining milk
the whole to be baked, and served
on a bed of saffron rice
details available
in most good newsagents, the one
still open, the sad small place
selling also socks in piles of six
grey, navy, black, set down in a basket
shrine-like near the cold shelves
where butter, milk, rashers, cheese
sit behind plastic veils,
the whole shop a shrine to the sustenance of desolation
oh purchasers of sombre socks and butter
the restless having woken
and hurried to the place, barefoot, breathless
pointing things out to the woman who sits behind the counter
in front of the cigarettes, beside the Lotto machine, near
the chocolate fingers: and exhausted walker home
from the faraway party, the minced lamb, the low flame
under the heavy pan, the garlic, the onions, the apricot
light, the milky grass, the lambs dancing
in the planet’s craters, the women sleeping on beds of ginger
entering in a dream to buy
bangles, silks, apricot jam.
_____
Charles Donnelly
(1914-1937, nació en Killybrackey, condado de Tyrone, Irlanda del Norte,
y se murió en España (en La Guerra Civil). Born in Killybrackey,
County Tyrone, Northern Ireland – died in Spain, fighting in The Spanish
Civil War.)
“La Tolerancia de los Cuervos”
La muerte llega en gran número por problemas
resueltos en los mapas, disposiciones bien ordenadas,
ángulos de elevación y dirección;
llega inocente a manos de instrumentos que podrían gustarle a los niños,
guardándolos debajo de las almohadas,
inocentemente clavados en toda carne.
Y con la carne se desmorona la mente
que arrastra al pensamiento de la mente
que despoja con claridad al pensamiento de un propósito esperando.
El avance del veneno en los nervios y
el colapso de la disciplina se detiene.
El cuerpo espera la tolerancia de los cuervos.
_____
“The Tolerance of Crows”
Death comes in quantity from solved
Problems on maps, well-ordered dispostions,
Angles of elevation and direction:
Comes innocent from tools children might
Love, retaining under pillows,
Innocently impales on any flesh.
And with flesh falls apart the mind
That trails thought from the mind that cuts
Thought clearly from a waiting purpose.
Progress of poison in the nerves and
Discipline’s collapse is halted.
Body awaits the tolerance of crows.
_____
Saint Dallán Forgaill: “Be Thou my Vision” / “Rop tú mo baile”
Posted: March 17, 2012 Filed under: English, Irish, Saint Dallán Forgaill | Tags: Saint Patrick's Day Poems Comments Off on Saint Dallán Forgaill: “Be Thou my Vision” / “Rop tú mo baile”
“Rop tú mo baile”
(Saint Dallán Forgaill, c.530-598)
Rop tú mo baile, a Choimdiu cride:
ní ní nech aile acht Rí secht nime.
Rop tú mo scrútain i l-ló ‘s i n-aidche;
rop tú ad-chëar im chotlud caidche.
Rop tú mo labra, rop tú mo thuicsiu;
rop tussu dam-sa, rob misse duit-siu.
Rop tussu m’athair, rob mé do mac-su;
rop tussu lem-sa, rob misse lat-su.
Rop tú mo chathscíath, rop tú mo chlaideb;
rop tussu m’ordan, rop tussu m’airer.
Rop tú mo dítiu, rop tú mo daingen;
rop tú nom-thocba i n-áentaid n-aingel.
Rop tú cech maithius dom churp, dom anmain;
rop tú mo flaithius i n-nim ‘s i talmain.
Rop tussu t’ áenur sainserc mo chride;
ní rop nech aile acht Airdrí nime.
Co talla forum, ré n-dul it láma,
mo chuit, mo chotlud, ar méit do gráda.
Rop tussu t’ áenur m’ urrann úais amra:
ní chuinngim daíne ná maíne marba.
Rop amlaid dínsiur cech sel, cech sáegul,
mar marb oc brénad, ar t’ fégad t’ áenur.
Do serc im anmain, do grád im chride,
tabair dam amlaid, a Rí secht nime.
Tabair dam amlaid, a Rí secht nime,
do serc im anmain, do grád im chride.
Go Ríg na n-uile rís íar m-búaid léire;
ro béo i flaith nime i n-gile gréine
A Athair inmain, cluinte mo núall-sa:
mithig (mo-núarán!) lasin trúagán trúag-sa.
A Chríst mo chride, cip ed dom-aire,
a Flaith na n-uile, rop tú mo baile.
_____
“Be thou my vision”
Hymn verses
set to the Irish folktune ‘Slane’, English lyrics by
Eleanor Hull (1912), based on Saint Dállan’s poem,
“Rop tú mo baile”
* * *
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,
naught be all else to me, save that thou art;
Thou my best thought by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
*
Be thou my wisdom, thou my true word,
I ever with thee and thou with me Lord;
Thou my great Father, I thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.
*
Be thou my breastplate, sword for the fight;
Be thou my dignity, thou my delight;
Thou my soul’s shelter, thou my high tower:
Raise thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
*
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise:
Thou mine inheritance now and always;
Thou and thou only – first in my heart;
High King of Heaven, my treasure thou art.
*
High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O Bright Heaven’s sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
* * *
Poemas para El Día Internacional de la Mujer: Tres poetas que deseamos honrar / Poems for International Women’s Day: Three poets we wish to honour
Posted: March 8, 2012 Filed under: Ana Castillo, bell hooks, English, Freedom Nyamubaya, Spanish, ZP Translator: Alexander Best, ZP Translator: Lidia García Garay Comments Off on Poemas para El Día Internacional de la Mujer: Tres poetas que deseamos honrar / Poems for International Women’s Day: Three poets we wish to honour
ZP_Itzpapalotl_Goddess mural in San Francisco_near 16th and Sanchez streets
.
bell hooks
(nace/born 1952, Kentucky, EEUU/USA)
En ese momento que… / The moment that…
*
En ese momento que decidimos amar
Empezamos a ir en contra de
La dominación, en contra de
La opresión.
En ese momento que decidimos amar
Empezamos a irnos hacia la libertad;
A actuar de maneras que nos liberan – y que liberan a otros también.
Esa acción es el testimonio del amor como la práctica de la libertad.
*
The moment we choose to love
we begin to move
against domination,
against oppression.
The moment we choose to love
we begin to move towards freedom;
to act in ways that liberate ourselves – and others.
That action is the testimony of love as the practice of freedom.
_____
Freedom Nyamubaya
(nace/born 1958, Zimbabwe)
La Poesía
*
Alguien dijó, no eres poeta,
pero olvidó que la poesía es un arte y
El Arte is un ritmo significativo.
Pues entonces, ¿qué es ritmo,
si puedo preguntar?
Algunos dicen que es sílabas marchando
otros dicen: sonidos marchando
pero dime como puedo casarlos a los dos.
Luchamos contra Shakespeare en el campo de batalla,
Los Negros lucharon contra los Bóeres con las lanzas.
Éstas son sílabas que marchan
y son el Arte – a alguna gente,
pues, ¿cómo yo puedo casarlos a los dos?
¿Y qué decimos de un ritmo diferente?
Mueren en los guetos la gente,
por redadas de policía y disparos del ejército.
Los obreros se asfixian en las minas de carbón,
excavando el carbón que no pueden comprar
para cocinar a diario para alimentarse.
Algo poético, ésto.
Pues quedemos en no estar de acuerdo.
El Arte sirve.
_____
Freedom Nyamubaya
Poetry
*
One person said, you are not a poet,
but forgot that poetry is an art and
Art is meaningful rhythm.
Now what is rhythm
if I may ask?
Some say it’s marching syllables,
others say it’s marching sounds,
but tell me how you marry the two.
We fought Shakespeare on the battlefield,
Blacks fought the Boers with their spears.
These are marching syllables
and Art to some,
but how can I marry the two?
How about a different rhythm?
People die in the ghettoes,
from police raids and army shots.
Workers suffocate under coal mines,
digging the coal they can’t afford to buy
for cooking daily to feed themselves.
Poetic stuff, this.
Then let’s agree to disagree.
Art serves.
_____
Ana Castillo
(nace/born 1953, Chicago, Illinois, EEUU/USA)
Pido lo Imposible
*
Yo pido lo imposible: ámame por siempre
Ámame cuando todo el amor se haya ido.
Ámame con la dedicación de un monje.
Cuando el mundo en su totalidad,
y todo lo que para ti es sagrado, te aconsejan
contra ello: ámame aún más.
Cuando la cólera te llene y no tenga nombre: ámame.
Cuando cada paso de tu puerta a nuestro trabajo te fatigue,
ámame; y del trabajo de retorno a casa, ámame.
Ámame cuando estés aburrido,
cuando cada mujer que veas sea más bella que la anterior,
o más patética, ámame como siempre lo haz hecho:
no como admirador o juez pero con
la compasión que guardas para ti mismo
en tu nostalgia.
Ámame tanto cuanto aprecias tu soledad,
la anticipación de tu muerte,
misterios de la carne, mientras se rompe y se sana.
Ámame como tu más atesorada memoria de la infancia
– y si no hay ninguna a recordar –
imagínate una, y yo allí contigo.
Ámame marchita tanto como me amastes nueva.
Ámame como si yo fuera para siempre
y haré de lo imposible
un acto simple,
al amarte, amarte como yo te amo.
_____
Ana Castillo
I Ask The Impossible
*
I ask the impossible: love me forever.
Love me when all desire is gone.
Love me with the single mindedness of a monk.
When the world in its entirety,
and all that you hold sacred, advise you
against it: love me still more.
When rage fills you and has no name: love me.
When each step from your door to our job tires you,
love me; and from job to home again, love me, love me.
Love me when you’re bored,
when every woman you see is more beautiful than the last,
or more pathetic, love me as you always have:
not as admirer or judge but with
the compassion you save for yourself
in your solitude.
Love me as you relish your loneliness,
the anticipation of your death,
mysteries of the flesh, as it tears and mends.
Love me as your most treasured childhood memory
– and if there is none to recall –
imagine one, place me there with you.
Love me withered as you loved me new.
Love me as if I were forever
and I will make the impossible
a simple act,
by loving you, loving you as I do.
_____
Traducciones del inglés al español:
Alexander Best (“En ese momento que…” y “La Poesía”)
Lidia García Garay (“Pido lo Imposible”)
_____
Murielle Jassinthe: Of Country Bodies
Posted: March 6, 2012 Filed under: English, Murielle Jassinthe, ZP Translator: Alexander Best Comments Off on Murielle Jassinthe: Of Country Bodies
Jassinthe writes of this poem:
“I’m speaking here of two homeless drug-addicts. Having no shelter other than the banks of an urban river, there they sleep where solitude isolates them, pushes them toward a more physical closeness. Drug-taking and love-making help them forget the cold, the loneliness – and their Being.”
_____
Murielle Jassinthe was born in Québec in 1982 – of Haitian parentage.
Currently she’s pursuing a Masters in African and Francophone Literatures at Laval University where she works also as a research assistant. Two years ago, Éditions Bruno Doucey published “Land of Women” – an anthology of Haitian women poets spanning a century-and-a-half. Jassinthe’s poetry was included – one of the youngest voices. Last year, at Laval University’s Lantiss, she worked both as actress and production assistant on a play by Haitian playwright Guy Régis, Jr., entitled “La mort de soi dans sa longue robe de Mariée”. Also in 2011 Murielle received a writer’s grant from Première Ovation, and was mentored by poet Alix Renaud for the creation of her collection of poems with photographs, “Trouble Optik” – from which comes the poem we feature here.
_____
Poem translation from French into English:
Alexander Best – with Murielle Jassinthe
Murielle Jassinthe: Des corps champêtres
Posted: March 6, 2012 Filed under: French, Murielle Jassinthe Comments Off on Murielle Jassinthe: Des corps champêtres
Jassinthe écrit de son poème:
“Je parle de deux sans-abris toxicomanes. N’ayant nul autre abris que les berges d’un
fleuve en ville, ils y dorment. La solitude les isolent et les pousse à se rapprocher
physiquement. La drogue et l’amour physique les aident à oublier le froid, la solitude,
leur être.”
_____
D’origine haïtienne, Murielle Jassinthe naît à Québec en 1982.
Elle poursuit une maîtrise à la Chaire de recherche du Canada en
littératures africaines et francophones à l’Université Laval où elle
œuvre en tant qu’auxiliaire de recherche.
En 2010, les Éditions Bruno Doucey publient trois de ses poèmes
au sein de l’anthologie Terre de femmes, 150 ans de poésie féminine en Haïti.
En 2011, au Lantiss (à Laval), elle y campe le double rôle d’actrice et d’assistante
à la mise en scène, matérialisant ainsi La mort de soi dans sa longue robe de Mariée,
l’une des œuvres du dramaturge haïtien contemporain Guy Régis Jr.
Aussi en 2011 – Bénéficiaire d’une bourse en création littéraire octroyée par
Première Ovation, Murielle fut mentorée par le poète Alix Renaud pour l’écriture de
son recueil Trouble Optik – duquel vient le poème ici.
____
Lisez au-dessus notre traduction français-anglais…
Murielle Jassinthe: The maternal angle / L’angle maternel
Posted: March 6, 2012 Filed under: English, French, Murielle Jassinthe, ZP Translator: Alexander Best Comments Off on Murielle Jassinthe: The maternal angle / L’angle maternel_____
Murielle Jassinthe
L’angle maternel * The maternal angle
_
La langue de ma mère * The language of my mother
se tord en ma bouche * gets twisted in my mouth
attise la brûlure * fans the burn
à l’oeil nu * clear and direct
métallique conte nocturne * metallic nocturne tale
ses chants de volaille * these birdsongs
ne se mangent * can only be eaten
que par la bouche colonial * by the colonial mouth
_
digérés par ce vent de sel * digested by this saltwind
mes viscères rubiconds haïssent * that my bloody guts hate
les odeurs transfigurent * the smell transforms
ma veste ma peau d’être * my coat my skin myself
fort ce hâle qui me fait cuir * strong this browning that
davantage que le soleil * burns even more than sun
la main le regard * hand and eyes
m’ont fait cuire * have baked me.
_
je me sens * I feel
j’exhale * I exhale
danse pour la terre seule * dance for the earth
creuset de fièvre
* alone feverish
verve lente douce * slow sweet verve
érosion qui s’inscrit * erosion that etches
en mes muscles * into my muscles
ma tête arabesque * my headband’s
est porte-étendard * a standard-bearer
_
la langue de ma mère * my mother tongue
se tord en ma bouche. * writhes in my mouth.
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The poet states:
“I’m writing here about feelings of cultural dislocation. The Haitian Creole language – that is, the mother tongue – that I have not mastered speaking. This native language of my mother and father which is not mine. All the same, there exist the words, my love of language to describe and to shout out my identity, suffering, joy, injustice, love, desire, fear, etc: The World in all its wonderful ugliness and tortuous beauty. And I am proud, as well, of my people – Haitians – I am one of their blazing torches.”
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Résumé par le poète:
“J’écris à propos d’un sentiment de dépossession culturelle. De cette langue créole, le
langue maternelle, que je ne maîtrise pas. La langue maternelle de ma mère et de mon père
qui n’est pas la mienne. Toutefois, il me reste les mots, mon amour de la langue pour
décrier et crier mon identité, la souffrance, la joie, l’injustice, l’amour, le désir, la peur, etc:
Le monde dans toute son admirable laideur et sa tortueuse beauté. Aussi, je suis fière de
mon people, les Haïtiens, et j’en suis l’un des flambeaux.”
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Poem translation from French into English /
Traduction du poème, français-anglais:
Alexander Best – with/avec Murielle Jassinthe
Zócalo Poets 