January 31, 2016
Nou pase kay etranje
We go up a foreigner's steps
Nou jwenn pitit nou
And find our children
Ap bale pa pòt
Sweeping his floor
Nou chita nan salon etranje
We pass through a foreigner's house
Nou wè table nou
And find our paintings
Kwoke sou mi
On his wall
Nou tande mizik nou ap sot nan gagann yo
We hear our music coming from his gullet
N-antre nan kizin etranje
We enter a foreigner's kitchen
Nou jwenn toutrèl nou
And find our dove
Ap kwit nan chodyè yo
In his cooking pot
Yo ta chode toutrèl lavi-n
He's trying to cook our bird alive
Yo ta toufe zwezo bèlte-n
He's trying to smother our wild dove
Men gen moun ki pase
Someone's lifting the lid
Chodyè -a dekouvri
The dove's escaping
Toutrèl vole l-ale
The dove's escaping
Sou dife a-l kite
Leaving on the fire
Yon chodyè ki vid k-ap boule
An empty pot that is burning.
Posted by hougansydney.com. Posted In : Boadiba
January 30, 2016
Yo rache koupe lang dyòl alèlè
They tear out Alele's tongue out
Pawòl kloure nan gòj nou
Nail speech to our throats
Lan dòmi long, youn lame rat mòde soufle
Along the length of sleep, an army of rats blows and bites
Zòtèy nou, zòrèy nou, dwèt nou, po bouch nou
Our toes, our ears, our fingers our lips.
Tèt mò griyen dan dèyè pòt
Death's head grins behind the door.
Yo moulen-kraze- zo nou miyèt moso
They grind our bones into bits
Yo krache lan men
They spit in our hands
Konbe rezon plamen ...
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Posted by hougansydney.com. Posted In : Frank Etienne
January 30, 2016
Nan mitan yon chan kann bò Igwey
In the middle of a cane field near Higuey
An Dominikani
In the Dominican Republic
De Ayisyen chita nan yon batey
Two Haitians are sitting
Pye atè, dotouni
Barefooted, their back nacked
Youn ape pale, youn ape koute
One's talking, one's listening
Yo pa fè bri
They're not making any noise
Van nan kann nan sèlman ki tande
The wind through the cane is the only thing hearing
Sa y-ape di
What they're saying
Vyewo, ou k-prale fè tè Ayiti,
Viejo as you're going to farm in Haiti...
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Posted by hougansydney.com. Posted In : Jean Claude Martineau
January 30, 2016
Pou yon ti moso demokrasi
For a piece of democracy
Wachintonn fè Ayiti filalang
Washington is teasing Haiti
Ala Wachintonn chich papa!
How stingy Washington is, papa!
Konsèy elektoral malatyong
Malathion's electoral council
Konsèy elektoral zanmitay
Nepotism's electoral council
Konsèy elektoral pwovizwa
Provisional electoral council
Pou gouvènman pwovizwa
For a provisional government
Nan youn peyi
In a country
Kote pa gen jistis
Where there's no Justie
Kriminèl se sèl wa
Only the criminal is king
Pa gen m...
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Posted by hougansydney.com. Posted In : Jean Dorcely Dede
January 30, 2016
Tout Vi nou,
all our lives
Fouchèt san dan
fork without teeth
Tout vi nou
All our lives
Ak do Kiyè
the backs of spoons
Ni jodi, Ni ayè
both today and yesterday
Yon peyi ki fè eskal
A country in transit
Sou tout lanmè eskandal
over all the sea's roaring,
Yon peyi lamizè eskalade
a land of poverty escalating
tribò ba bò
on all sides,
Yon peyi chak manti men longè
A land where every lie is t h is big...
Ak lavi an danje de mò
with life in danger of death
Yon peyi fòskote
A sidewindling land
Kote tout zegwi m...
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Posted by hougansydney.com. Posted In : Georges Castera
January 29, 2016
Mwen di aba tout kandida
I say Down with all candidates
Aba tout Kandida Alaprezidans
Down with all presidential candidates
Mwen rele aba aba eleksyon
I shout Down with Down with elections
Ekri sou tout mi lavil la
Write all over my town
Aba eleksyon fout
Down with the god-damned elections
Ekri ak lakrè sou tout mi gri
Write with chalk all over the grey walls
Ekri ak chabon sou tout mi blanch
And with charcoal all over the whites walls
Aba tout kandida
Down with all candidates
Aba tout eleksyon
Down with all...
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Posted by hougansydney.com. Posted In : Felix Morisseau-Leroy
January 10, 2016
Fanm pote lavi
Woman carry life
piwo pase fetay solèy
higher than beams of sunlight
Nan voye wòch monte
In a stone throw's rising
Bwote dlo desann
And bringing water down
Nan lakou plètil
At the courtyard of "yes,sir"
Fanm leve nechèl wotè van
Women raise a ladder high as the wind
K'ap bale wouze
Sweeping the dews.
Nan peyi malfini
In the land of hawks
Fanm charye douvan jou-l
Women transport day break
Sou tèt kamyon bwat
Atop the wooden backs of trucks
madan sara fè ovètay
Market women doing overtime
pou...
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Posted by hougansydney.com. Posted In : Michel-Ange Hyppolite
November 30, 2015
Mwen se Ayisyen
I am Haitian
Paske nan peyi mwen
Because in my country
Genyen yon Kalfou
There is a crossroad
Yo rele Kat Chimen
They call Four Paths
Mwen se Ayisyen
I am Haitian
Paske nan peyi mwen
Because in my country
Gen yon Zwazo yo rele
There is a bird they called
Wanga Nègès
The niggers' magic
Mwen se Ayisyen
I am Haitian
Paske nan peyi mwen
Because in my country
Lang zansèt yo
The ancestors' language
Se Kreyòl li rele
Is called Creole
Mwen se Ayisyen
I am Haitian
Paske nan tan lontan
Because in ancient t...
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Posted by hougansydney.com. Posted In : Sydney Noel
November 30, 2015
Minwi sonnen
It strikes midnight
Lè a rive pou m'soti
It is time for me to go out
Paske depi m'piti
because since I was little
Yo pa vle m'soti lè li fè bren
They did not want me to go out when it's dark
Aswè a
Tonight
Mwen vle rankontre ak Mèt Minwi
I want to meet with Midnight's Master
Mwen vle chita pale
I want to sit and talk
Ak tout lougarou
With all the werewolves
Manman'm di
My mother says
Se nèg vanyan
It's brave men
Nèg ki gen senk bouton nan pantalon
Men with five buttons in their pants
Ki ka sot...
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Posted by hougansydney.com. Posted In : Sydney Noel
November 30, 2015
Kreyòl
Creole
Ala bèl lang se Kreyòl
What a beautiful language is Creole!
Se moun ki gen bon djòl ki pale Kreyòl
It is those with good taste who speak Creole
Kreyòl
Creole
Se pa tout moun ki pale Kreyòl
It is not everyone who speaks Creole
Se moun ki pase anpil mizè
It is those who have been through miseries
nan men blan anba esklavaj
At the hand of the white man through slavery
Ki pale Kreyòl
Who speaks Creole
Kreyòl
Creole
Kreyòl se yon istwa
Creole is a history
Yon brasay, yon ti kras nan chak
A sti...
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Posted by hougansydney.com. Posted In : Sydney Noel
