Lakay

Lakay is where the sky meets the ocean

Where the mountains embrace

Rather than intimidate

Protecting the poor that inhabit the island

It is where the groans of the majority

Somehow create a song

Much like a hum

Reminding us of our ancestors, the slaves

When I think about lakay

I see the sitadel

The bastiy

The fortresses that once stood tall and mighty

That now crumble under the weight

Of a nation torn by hate

Shattered by confusion

Misdirected by “help” of all those Others

But when I think only of lakay, sweet lakay

I see my mother’s Leyogan

My father’s Mol Sen Nikola

The heavy, sweating streets of my Pot-o-pwens

I see the wicker basket atop the machann’s head

The way she balances it

Without a supporting hand

Unknowingly exuding the attitude of Revolution

I hear the krik-krak of chain against chain

As we tried to break free

Set against the drums

The drums that the houngan’s men carry

Lakay still means a lot that I know nothing of

The sea shimmers with secrets

But perhaps in the past

I’ll find the rusted, bent keys to the future

Lakay se lakay.

Translations: (All italicized words are in Haitian Kreyol)

“Lakay” is the word for “home,” though etymologically meaning “the house.”

Sitadel: a famous Haitian citadel in Cap Haitian

Bastiy: a fortress of sorts in Mole St. Nicolas, on the northern tip of Haiti

Leyogan, Mol Sen Nikola, Pot-o-pwens: respectively Leogane, Mole St. Nicolas, Port-au-Prince; cities in Haiti

Machann: vendor, usually selling produce on the street or in a large open market

Krik-krak : here used as onomatopoeia, but also the title of a famous Haitian book

Houngan: voodoo priest

Lakay se lakay: "home is home," or "your house/home is your home"