Felix Morriseau-Leroy

Se Bon

Translation by Marie-Marcelle B. Racine

That's fine!
That's fine
That's fine, judge
That's fine, father
That's fine, deputy
That's fine, big shot
That's fine, chief
What do you want me to say?
That's fine
What else can I say?
That's fine
That's fine, your honor
Judge me
Condemn me
Discharge me
That's fine, father
Baptize me
Confess me
Give me holy communion
Confirm me
Bury me
Say the absolution prayer for me
That's fine, deputy
Tap my shoulder
I'll vote for you
That's right
Eat my food
Sleep in my bed
My daughter will make coffee
What a good jack-of-all-trades
She'd be in town!
0 that's fine,
Cop
Beat me up, sheriff
Sticks have no memory
That's fine, policeman
Arrest me
Set me free just before Election Day.
That's fine, marshal
That's fine surveyor
Put me out
Serve me a warrant
What else can I say?
That's fine
I say: That is fine
That's fine, deputy
I'll be as drunk as a skunk
On election Day.
That's fine, pastor
Convert me Civilize me
That's fine
Call me brrrother
Say it again
Deal with me in folklore
Make books out of me
Buy me cheap
Sell me expensive
That's fine.

God is Good

Translation by Marie-Marcelle B. Racine

When I say "God is good", they laugh
For their God,
I can only be a son-in-law
If I say "God is good", they laugh
They know that their God is not good for me
When the river floods over the countryside
When the wind blows over the sea
When my well-bred fighting cock is losing
When the drought batters the peasant
Their God, their Almighty Father,
Will do nothing for his son-in-law
If I say "God is good" I know what I mean
I know what God of mine is good
The Almighty Father, the one with the big white beard
Will be good for his own children
The God who sits on clouds
With little angels playing trumpets
Their cheeks swollen like gourds
The God who speaks French or Latin
Is good for those who speak like him
For those who go highmass on Sundays
That's why they laugh as they do
When I say "God is good"
My God is the fire, He's the wind
He's the land, he's the tree
And He is the strength of men and women in this land of ours
My God, It is I

***

My God
He is the sun, He is the moon
He is the spring, the lake, the ocean
He is my pleasure, my pain
From my birth to my death
My yam field with a good yield
My plantain farm the hurricane toppled down
The brightest star in the sky
The biggest silk cotton tree alongside the main road
It is HE
Among valiant men, He is Dessalines
Among mountain ranges, He is Morne La Selle
Only in the flooding Artibonite
Can He bathe
As He walks His blouse whooshes
Like a northern storm that comes from far away
Of the creatures of the sea, He is the whale
But among pretty little birds, He is the humming bird
I could sing
From sunrise to sunset
From dusk to dawn
I would keep on singing

***
My God
Should dwell in Henry Christophe's Citadelle
Yet He lives in my heart, runs in my blood
He is in the heart of my home, under my thatched-roof veranda
Under the fig tree in my yard
He is in my voice when I sing
He dances in my body when I dance
IfI were to say all about him
From All Saints Day to Carnival
From Holy Week till New Year's Day
I would still be talking
Richer in color than the rainbow
He stands more straight than the royal palm tree
He is more supple than the Madeleine snake
Despite all that He is I

***
My God
He is everything that makes me happy
He is all that makes me sad
My God, He is life itself
Of aromatic herbs, He is the peppermint
Among seashells, He is the conch
On the vodou altar, He is the medicine tree
He is the passion fruit, He is the big oak tree
He is the seed of my corn
He is the flower of my red bean
He is the stem of my millet
He is the rootstock of my cassava
He is the handle of my pestle
He is my pruning knife
He is the helm of my ship
I know no more
Have you ever heard of what happened in Bois Caiman?
He was there too
When my great great grandfather was going around
Pulling bullets out of the cannon
He was there too
When you might think the boat capsized
And you see it straighten itself again
It is He

***

You could even see all those big shots
Pens in their hands
Ready to sell and buy the country
Then He comes by and blows the candle out
The whole deal is over
You better know also He can correct those bad books
School children are given to read
Were it not for Him, everyone would be finished
A long long time ago
Let's leave the rest for another day
Many many things will come to pass
We will be here
Up to the end Let them laugh as they want whenever I say "God is good."

Zombi

Translation by Jeffrey Knapp

Since I was a little kid
I've listened to people
Talk about zombies
But I've never seen one

Later they explained to me
That zombies are people buried alive
Without being dead, unburied
To be brought back to life

I thought it over
And figured if they didn't die
They would sooner or later

I never heard of them
Burying a zombi
Who was dead

For a long time I've been walking
Night and day
All over the country
And I've never met a zombi face to face,
beard to beard

I've never heard
What they'd do with
The body
Of a zombi who was dead

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Cover Design: Joseph McNair