In the Country of the Dead
So many people die each day
that our hearts refuse to register grief”
All these dead
Who among us will question them
Will it still require a massacre
and tears
for the road beneath the earth to be traced for us
Unless this wind that rips into us
has made us lose our reason
to the point that we don’t care about the meeting
All these dead
What names should be called in the circle
hands extended for a prayer of parting
but reluctantly
We don’t wail the way we used to
So many people die each day
that our hearts refuse to register grief
All these dead
whom we never see
Was it part of their destiny to die
All these dead
who slowly slip out of our lives
What have we offered them in all this time
if not words too unraveled to give birth to one poem
………………..
(Habib Tengour)
Habib Tengour is one of the foremost contemporary Maghrebian poets. He was born in Mostaganem in 1947. Poet, writer and anthropologist, he has constantly lived between France and Algeria.
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Michèle Voltaire Marcelin is a poet/writer, performer and painter who was born and raised in Haiti, sojourned in Chile, and currently lives in the United States. The publication of her first novel “La Désenchantée” (CIDIHCA, Montréal-2006) was followed by its Spanish translation “La Desencantada” and two other books of poetry and prose: “Lost and Found” and “Amours et Bagatelles” (CIDIHCA, Montréal-2009) - translated into Spanish by Editorial ALBA as "Amores y cosas sin importancia" - all of which garnered rave reviews. Her writings are also featured in 3 anthologies published in France: "Cahier Haiti" (published by RAL'M-2009), "Terre de Femmes" (Editions Bruno Doucey-2011) "Revue Intranqu'îllités" (2012). She speaks and writes fluently French, English, Spanish and Haitian Creole. She has a BFA from the Leonard Davis Center for the Performing Arts at CUNY and a Masters from The New School for Social Research.
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