Poetry of Revolution: Romanticism and National Projects

4.3.3 Civil wars

Several of Coicou’s poems foreground Haiti’s civil strife as also threatening to Haiti’s

survival, in terms of general discord, occasional political upheavals, and outright civil war.

Cociou’s poem “A Geffrard” is a prime example of a poem which speaks of Haiti’s internal

difficulties and correlates domestic policy with external interference. At the same time, the

poem merits consideration for the fact that it is one of the few poems in nineteenth-century Haiti

to speak specifically of Haitian leaders in the post-revolutionary era. Fabre-Nicholas Geffrard

served as Haiti’s president from 1859 to 1867 and was responsible for securing the Concordat

with the Vatican and for taking steps to improve education. The speaker in this poem recognizes

Geffrard’s achievements but then unapologetically moves to indictment. In order to maintain

power, Geffrard, collaborated with foreign powers for his own political gain. The poem contains

references to Geffrard’s use of the British Navy to combat political rival Sylvain Salnave. The

poet’s outrage is evident in the exclamatory nature of this direct address:

Oui, vous avez bien droit aux honneurs de l’histoire

Dans la liste des potentats,

Votre front aux lauriers, votre nom à la gloire ;

Mais je ne vous applaudis pas [...]

Entendre l’Etranger qu’un sourire encourage

Tuer vos frères exaltés!

Quoi! Le canon anglais nous cracher son outrage

Et massacrer nos libertés![...]

Oui, tout cela Géffrard, confirmé par vous-même! [...]

Or, quand vous auriez droit à la plus grande gloire

Dans la liste des potentats,

De ce drame outrageant qui souilla notre histoire,

Non, je ne vous absoudrais pas! (1-4, 13-16, 21,65-68)