soul victorious
soul victorious-eric fitzpatrick
what seems to tear me alive
my troubled tongue cannot explain
life not being what i intended
and love not forthcoming
grief, a fishbone stuck in my throat
pain blinding me, naked light
shadows on the wall turning bright
seeing another day, the only miracle
so i go on living
it hardly matters where
out of myself, against a wall, beneath the stars
my body overtaken by the noise in my mind
sudden wild birds in the air
i fled with them once
nothing could impede that flight
not the thousands of glances
transmitting implacable judgments
habitual messages
read in the moaning of the trees
the shifting of the stones
in a taptap the wind tapping on my mind
strangers as friends
more tightly pressed than the fingers of the hand
to a dark-in-the-night shantytown
grief eliminates many places
streetwalker among rubble and silence
sleepwalker on the tightrope of chance
until i’m barefeet at the gate
~a glowing of a lamp~
did you say it was my soul?
do i have a soul in the secret depth
where no words need to be spoken?
things must burn to glow:
i have passed through the fire
michele voltaire marcelin
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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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