Kanntè Kapab
By Fritz Monde
What do you mean
I smell like a refugee,
salt eyes battling God's roiling seas,
my descendants fought
to make Savannah free,
but what you demonstrate
is inequality.All I want,
a fair chance to advance,
have you seen our children's accomplishments,
my soul is weary, rockin' to and fro',
smashing waves, drenching rain,
Lord am I to die in vain.What if my eyes were as blue
as the summer sky,
what if I were blonde,
my color alabaster,
and if my speech had a drawl or a twang,
could I then be,
American.My name is titi, son-son, roro, michou,
you can call me tijo or fito,
my descendants come from African tribes,
my country reams worldly diffusion.Do you hear conch shells
blowing rhythmic winds,
Can you feel goat skin drums
pulse your heartbeat.I've had independence since 1804,
been a slave to skeleton remembrance
forever more.
Ansyen bon,
toujou bon we say
but our children grow red hair,
distended bellies fed by false promise,And I become mask men
spewing hate and fury,
while dreams of country,
thrash flesh into powdery ash.I thirst morality,
as I leave the slip,
far across murky waters
the moon guides lost ships.I do not know the truth of this land,
I've been told freedom rings
a sound I can hold.
Bon Dieu! I pray
let worn feet touch the shoal.In the distant crackle,
voices in disdain,
round up, line up,
your Customs say.How can this be,
for when you come to me
you are free,
and never want to leave,
Cher Haiti.Listen to pilgrim's melody,
my country tis of thee,
sweet land of liberty...
sadly it's not for me.I rot in countless jails,
generations in detention,
future rejected,
and I ask why Ruben
can come the same way,
be treated courteously,
while I fester without mercy.But we must learn,
that what we sow we reap,
solemn pathos is our country's road
to democracy.Wrought in turmoil,
murdered by Callous,
the lesson to harvest,
that man's quest be honest.Yet one day out of bondage
an ideal bound by prayer
shall set us free,
no one higher than Him,
no one lower than the other,
together respect mutually.Then a shout will reign
from Taino mountains,
life shall I live,
for freedom instills
AYITI.