CHOOOUUU! ZOT PA POU GAGN MWA/CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!

                              1
Dan lekol Goudlenns, enn ti kreolinn
Ti pe sikann mwa parski mo malbar
Ki pa konn Kreol, zis konn fer mofinn.
Dan Goudlenns, boukou banane pli tar,
Mo ti zwenn Mis Mod ar seve drese
Ki ti kritik mwa parski dapre li
Mo ti pe anpes bann zanfan Kreol
Konn Angle-Franse pou kit site tol,
Gagn enn bon travay dan ti paradi.
Zot ti kontan sikane:
Dir mwa ki mo enn payen;
Zangarna pa vo nanye.
Eski zot anvi kone
Ki Zezi, sen tou bann sen,
Li enn avatar Bondie?

In the village of my youth, a young kinky haired Creole girl mocked me for my coolie Creole was shocking. Years later I met her again. She was a straightened haired school teacher who reprimanded me for promoting Creole to the detriment of English and French, a passport to a good job and a better life. They think I am a pagan, child of Juggernaut. Do they know Jesus is my Lord God?

                                      2
Dan Bobasen mo ti gagn sikane
Parski mo ti pe apel mo granper
“Tata”, mo Telegou pou granpapa.
“So granper tata, li mari tata!”
Dan lekol lefrer, dan kolez lefrer
Ti fer mwa konpran pa ena dime
Pou zans bitasion. Mo plas pa lot ki
Dan dife lanfer parski paradi
Li rezerve pou bann ki swiv Zezi.
Zot ti kontan sikane:
Dir mwa ki mo enn payen;
Zangarna pa vo nanye.
Eski zot anvi kone
Ki Zezi, sen tou bann sen,
Li enn avatar Bondie?

The town I grew up in, mocked me because I called my grandad “Tata” (‘tata’ is a Creole word considered a less harsh word for ‘kaka’ – shit), a Telugu word for grandfather. If my grandad was shit, I was supershit. In a Christian college, I was told that people like me would definitely end in the fires of hell. They think I am a pagan, child of Juggernaut. Do they know Jesus is my Lord God?

                                3
Lor later kreol, aster ki nou rol?
Bann Afrokreol, bann Erokreol
Prefer koz Franse pou gagn gabari
E fer lil kreol vinn enn Ti-Pari;
Bann Endokreol pe rod fer pei
Vinn chota Barrat; Islamokreol
Fer kwar ki zot tou sorti Larabi.
Personn pa’le kwar, lor later kreol,
Nou tou koz kreol, manz ek viv kreol.
Zot ti kontan sikane:
Dir mwa ki mo enn payen;
Zangarna pa vo nanye.
Eski zot anvi kone
Ki Zezi, sen tou bann sen,
Li enn avatar Bondie?

On my Creole Island, both Afro and Euro creoles think French is their lifebuoy and they dream of Little France; Indo creoles want our land to become Little India; Islamo creoles want to believe that they came from Arabia. Why is it hard to accept that we are all immigrants who speak creole languages, eat creole food and live by creole standards, another term for miscegenation. They think I am a pagan, child of Juggernaut. Do they know Jesus is my Lord God?

27-28.02.22

MO PEI
Mo pei li pa zis enn tapi karo kann,
Zis kristal fangouren ek parfen tamaren;
Li pa zis enn choula pou sof roulman ravann,
Zis kadans souriyan bann trannsenk kas leren;

Mo pei li pa zis kokotie ekzotik,
Zis soley lor laplaz ek douser badinaz;
Li pa zis soulezon dan nisa rom tropik,
Paradi pou touris ek foulous-alanaz.

Mo pei li tousa, me li plis ki tousa.
Li finn gout lavantir dous-amer ras imen,
Konstrikter-destrikter, bouldozer-mazisien.
Li enn gran larkansiel kot zepis tou kouler
Gard freser gramaten dan bourzon nouvo fler.
Mo pei li tousa, me li plis ki tousa.

 
MY LAND
My land is not just a green carpet of cane leaves,,
Just crystalised cane juice and tamarind fragrance;
It’s not just the flame of ravanne beat,
The smiling sway of hip-shaking damsels;

My land is not just exotic palm trees,
Just sun-bathed beaches and carefree frolic;
It’s not just tropical rum tipsy revelling,
Paradise for loaded aliens and filthy rich.

My land is all that and much more.
It has tasted human sweet-bitter feat,
Builder-destroyer, bulldozer-magician.
It’s a giant rainbow where multihued spices
Keep original freshness in new scions.
My land is all that and much more.