Haitians residing abroad also expressed their sympathy, as numerous other citations lauded
Coicou as a man of courage, a national poet, and a martyr to his country and his race. Haitian
poet Arsène Chevry wrote a poem dedicated to Coicou late in 1908 from exile in Guadeloupe,
published in the Guadeloupean newspaper “Le Citoyen.” The verses below summarize how
Coicou would be perceived by future generations of Haitian writers and the enduring legacy he
would leave as a national hero:
De l’Histoire en chantant les dates triomphales
Il est tombé martyr, sous l’horrible ‘rafale’
Et ton arme n’était qu’un luth ô doux poète...
Qu’un luth, ô doux poète...^317 (1-4)More immediately and locally, the executions provoked panic, especially in the capitalcity of Port-au-Prince. Foreign nations were ready to intervene, including Jamaica and Cuba, as
well as once again Western imperial powers. British and Danish gun-boat activity occurred
alongside plans for departures of numerous political refugees.^318 Jolibois delves further into the
political involvement of other nations by evoking the possibility that Coicou’s assassination
became the pretext for multiple foreign interventions.^319
Haitian journalist Frédéric Marcelin, a supporter of Nord Alexis, asked if “par unestupide fusillade (Nord Alexis) lui assure une immortalité que sa poésie ne lui aurait pas
donné...?”^320 Critical of Coicou’s crossing from letters to politics, Marecelin also wrote:
“Etrange destinée que celle de Massillon Coicou! Les poètes sont généralement des rêveurs et
ils ne sont excellents qu’à cette condition. Le nôtre voulu être un homme d’action, et cela lui
(^317) Jolibois 171.
(^318) Gaillard 273.
(^319) Jolibois 155.
(^320) Frédéric Marcelin, Au gré du souvenir (Paris: Librarie maritime et coloniale, 1913) 161.