(I of V )
to Georges and Claude Pompidou
I.
Lord Jesus, at the end of this book, which I offer You
As a ciborium of sufferings
At the beginning of the Great Year, in the sunlight
Of Your peace on the snowy roofs of Paris
— Yet I know that my brothers’ blood will once more redden
The yellow Orient on the shores of the Pacific
Ravaged by storms and hatred
I know that this blood is the spring libation
The Great Tax Collectors have used for seventy years
To fatten the Empire’s lands
Lord, at the foot of this cross – and it is no longer You
Tree of sorrow but, above the Old and New Worlds,
Crucified Africa,
And her right arm stretches over my land
And her left side shades America
And her heart is precious Haiti, Haiti who dared
Proclaim Man before the Tyrant
At the feet of my Africa, crucified for four hundred years
And still breathing
Let me recite to You, Lord, her prayer of peace and pardon.
(Leopold Sedhar Senghor)
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Based on Topics: Sadness Poems, War & Peace Poems, Jesus Christ Poems, Spring Poems, Books Poems, Tyranny & Despotism Poems, Suffering PoemsBased on Keywords: claude, haiti, collectors, georges, ciborium