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)