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 HAITI, TU ME MANQUES

Haiti tu me manques. I miss you, Haiti.

You that France once had called “The pearl of the Antilles”;

You have suffered for a long, very long time,

And yet at the end of the tunnel there is no light.

Haiti, tu me manques. I’ve been away so long

Chasing a better life. I have been in Boston,

Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston,

New York and Miami. A resting break? I’ve none.

I may work for good pays; all my neighbors are cool;

My church embraces me; my kids go to great schools;

Everyone welcomes me and beyond and above;

But, Haiti, you’re the sole object of my love.

Wherever (I‘m) in that beautiful USA,

I see nice folks, great things much more that I can say;

Should I live as long as the old Methuzelah,

I couldn’t finish praising the charms of America.

I have security in the street and at home;

Where will come my next meal? That I have always known.

I don't have some worries I had in my country,

But that will not keep me from missing Haiti.

Haiti, tu me manques. Haiti, I miss you.

Once I left you, my dear, some four decades ago,

I exist, but don’t live. I am like a zombie,

Only you can cure me, beloved Haiti.

Haiti, I miss you; Haiti, tu me manques.

I may have everything, like money in the bank,

A beautiful house, a great car, a good job,

But far away from you I am poorer than Job.

Away from you I may possess silver and gold,

Write the greatest story that has been ever told;

I do not feel at ease; I do not feel at home

Away from your sweet arms, away from your bosom.

Even when I could be the smartest man around,

I'd proclaim God only can turn all things around.

I bow down in awe and recommend to Him

The faith of Haiti that He only can heal.

He who had used His might to rise up Lazarus

From the dead; He who caused a very dry forest

To grow fruits and great crops; He who gave a reason

For hope where there was no hope in the horizon;

Yes! I am confident that our God Almighty

In His infinite grace can do now for Haiti

What one thousand doctors, as bright as they might be,

Can accomplish for her in a full century.

But in no way that means that all of her children

In the Diaspora and in the motherland

Should not work together ((to give her a destiny))

That is in accordance with her great history.

We’re that Haiti that helped Simon Bolivar;

Whose troops fought the British (down there in Savannah);

Who assisted the Greeks in their fight from freedom

And requested nothing for all that she has done.

O! Haitians, let’s go! Wherever you may be,

Let’s stand up to defend the cause of Haiti.

“Men anpil, chay pa lou”, from union we get force;

When we fight together we achieve more, of course.

Haïtiens, en avant! Haitians, let’s go forward!

The world is watching us. Let’s banish all discords

To embrace unity, for this way there’s no doubt

We’ll accomplish great deeds that make all of us proud.

Haiti, tu me manques. Haiti, I miss you.

For you I’ll give my time and my energy too;

I will give my talents and I will give my life

With all the strength that’s left in me and all my cash.

Lyonel Dominique Desmarattes