“Harlem” lu en française par Leonie Jacque Dindji dans Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire “Harlem” lu en française par Cisse Binnie Bintou dans Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire “Harlem” lu en francaise par Guy Gnobo dans Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Harlem Hommes de Tous les Continents by Bernard Binlin Dadié, page 46 Translations by Margaret E. Wright-Cleveland, 2016
It is a tunnel in New York
A gray day in the sky
Harlem!
It is an old port in New York
A new Golgotha
Harlem!
It is a square of red bricks in New York
An island of shipwrecks
Harlem!
It is dirty walls within the colors of New York A nightmare among dreams Harlem!
It is a prison in New York
A Zoo for tourists
Harlem!
It is rags in the finery of New York A grimace amidst laughter Harlem!
It is a museum of misery in New York
A park for men called “colored”
Harlem!
It is a wart on the face of New York
A blind spot in the eye of the apostle
Harlem!
It is a bone in the throat of New York A cavity in the white tooth! Harlem!
It is a particular hotel for the Dead in New York
A negro fort
Harlem!
It is hell in the paradise of New York Where the flames of gold savor the Negro Harlem!
It rains over Harlem
The old negro sky cries over its children.