Promised Land
no we were not worthy of this land i swear on my life and on yours were we to beg forgiveness on our knees seventy seven times seventeen times from our lady of perpetual mercy history would not absolve us nor she we bleat like goats tethered to this land where men can be bought […]
Our grief will not silence us
“Granmè Mélina once told a story about a daughter whose father had died. The daughter loved her father so much that her heart was shattered into a hundred pieces. When it came time to plan for the jubilant country wake. which was once held the night before all funerals, the daughter wanted no part of […]
Lost and Found
” Lost and Found “ is the book of love. A CD of 25 poems chosen among the 74 in the collection is included with the text . There is an intimist tone to these poems and one can feel the poet giving herself entire to her devotion toward love. Contrary to the tone of […]
shattered glass
words casually falling from your mouth glass clumsily slipping from your hands shards of words splinters of glass because you do not witness blood because the tears dry quickly you do not think i suffer michèle voltaire marcelin
diagnosis
there was no ceremony when our love died no painful agony no friends or family gathered around its bedside no one assisted its demise it ended as it had begun sharp and sudden like a heart flash it was over so quickly: the perfect cancelled vows i erased your face in the mirrors gave you […]
the edge of the world
twice i kissed my life away twice saw ghosts at the edge of the world where half-woman half-fish i drowned my million nights alone in deep sea sounds and reckless waters that opened wide and forever slipping into me wave after wave after wave an infinity of salt was it your voice brought me […]
masquerade
first i will cry then i will lose sleep over you and go quite mad for a few weeks covering my head with ashes dressing in sicilian widow’s weeds i will not care for food or drink my friends will not know what to think i’ll sing sad songs in the mirror trying a range […]
a lying shame
She fancied him and things were free Sweet talking and sweet nothing But as the freedom was threatening he needed reasons beyond So they talked of stars and moons and planet configurations to explain their instant connection In heels she swayed where sweet music played and danced her heart away He spoke of love and […]
Jeux de patience
jeux de patience la partie est perdue sous ton regard j’ai renversé les cartes et le hasard tout était bien qui finit mal il nous faut changer de décor de cet amour dont tu m’avais entretenue je te dispense d’en garder trace de souvenir éteins la flamme qui faisait luire mon coeur-fanal enroule le tapis […]
I am alone
I am alone tonight The wrong I have done you sits like a sore beneath my thumb burns like a boil on my heart’s left side I am unwell and here like sunlight passing from a pattern of streets I feel your bright love leaving Another night Today I am told dear friend by another […]
Absence
Your absence has gone through me Like thread through a needle. Everything I do is stitched with its color. “Separation” by W. S. Merwin W.S. Merwin is a major American writer whose poetry, translations, and prose have won praise from literary critics since the publication of his first book. The spare, hard verse […]
You might as well live…
Résumé Razors pain you; Rivers are damp; Acids stain you; And drugs cause cramp. Guns aren’t lawful; Nooses give; Gas smells awful; You might as well live. Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker (b. 1893) She was irreverent, witty, and sarcastic – known as much for her flashing verbal exchanges and malicious wit as for the […]
Seasons
For everything there is a season, And a time for every matter under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to […]
Ma mort
C’est aujourd’hui le 30 mai, le dernier jour du délai fixé par le docteur Salmanazar. Malgré le flou tout blanc qui empêchait les sons aigus de me parvenir, j’avais pu entendre des bribes de phrases “Vraiment désolé Guy. Difficile à dire. Tout faire pour adoucir ses jours. Trois mois peut-être.” Alors j’avais compté. Mars. Avril. […]
De toute éternité
“C’était un amour magnifique et extravagant. Vieux comme le monde. Fluide comme le temps. Lui-même en souriant disait qu’ils s’aimaient depuis deux siècles. Pour elle, n’existait que le temps d’avant lui et celui d’après. Le premier si court qu’il ne lui restait en mémoire que des souvenirs d’enfance. Le second temps rempli de cet évènement. […]
so comes love
let it go the smashed word broken open vow or the oath cracked lengthwise let it go it was sworn to go let them go the truthful liars and the false fair friends and the boths and the neithers you must let them go they were born to go let it all go the big, […]
Romancero Gitano
La femme adultère Je la pris près de la rivière Car je la croyais sans mari Tandis qu’elle était adultère Ce fut la Saint-Jacques la nuit Par rendez-vous et compromis Quand s’éteignirent les lumières Et s’allumèrent les cri-cri Au coin des dernières enceintes Je touchai ses seins endormis Sa poitrine pour moi s’ouvrit Comme des […]
lighting fires
She is always in love. Always falling in love. Her heart is like an enormous room that is always cold. A man comes in, lights a fire, the flames swallow everything and then die down. When there are only ashes left, she shivers. She knows you cannot bring cinders back to life. You have to […]
mensonges et trahisons
Petits mensonges Details insignifiants Parasites Petites épines Petites gouttes de poison Petites brûlures d’acide Confiance déchiquetée Martyrisée Aucun espoir Aucun survivant Déesse Déchue michèle voltaire marcelin
Au travers du coeur
“Comme un alcool de neige à la gorge des nuits L’herbe folle des songes pousse au travers du coeur Des eaux longues de l’âge à la fleur de ma rage Une langue nue et charnue comme un bouquet de sexes Une langue de cris en forme de caresses Qui lèche le silence et qui soudain […]
ay, mi amor
Mi amor, Si de repente me olvidas… If suddenly you forget me, do not look for me, for I shall already have forgotten you. Si poco a poco dejas de quererme… if little by little you stop loving me I shall stop loving you little by little. If you think it long and mad, the […]
La mal-aimée
Maria Callas? C’est à la fois un nom mythique et magique. Qui n’a pas au moins une fois dans sa vie entendu parler d’elle ? Sa voix et ses brisures, sa voix reconnaissable entre mille, et son destin exceptionnel, digne des héroïnes qu’elle incarna à la scène, fit d’elle un personnage public. Sa mort […]
Dis moi que je suis ton pays…
"Il y a des bras de femmes qui sont des lieux d’exil, et d’autres qui sont la terre natale." Amin Maalouf "Le Périple de Baldassare"
Adieu
"On couche toujours avec les morts." Léo Ferré "Je prends congé des morts, mais pas pour les oublier." Saramago Parfois, j’ai des nuits empoisonnées de cauchemars… J’erre à travers un grand jardin saccagé par le vent. Des aboiements déchirent le silence. Un chien me poursuit. Un chien noir, pelé, famélique. Il me poursuit et il […]
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.