A/N: This is a little thing I wrote as a tribute to the twelve journalists who were massacred in Paris yesterday. With the help of my three years of French in school (and some Google translate), I translated my original poem into French. The French is shown first out of respect to the journalists, so if you'd like, just skip on down to the English version. Thanks for reading. Je suis Charlie.
French:
Je suis Charlie, mais j’ai beaucoup des noms:
Liberté, Egalite, Fraternité,
Tout de même.
J’habite dans une maison
Des plafonds du verre et bambou,
Les murs blancs, étages noirs–
Garde les sentiments!–
Fenêtres et portes verrouillées
Cette maison moisie se développe l’haine,
Violence et mensonges.
Je suis coince dans un état
De mort et les cris silencieux,
Mais venez dehors et tu verras
Comment la terre peut vraiment être.
L’amour et bonté envahiront
Les stylos levées, rien ne caché dans l’ombre
La lumière et le droit a la vie heureuse
La liberté de la cruauté, la peine et le mal
Ici est oú nous étions destinées à être
C’est la signification être Charlie.
English:
I am Charlie, though I have many names:
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity,
All the same.
I live in a house
Of glass and bamboo ceilings,
White walls, black floors–
Keeping in feelings!–
Locked windows and doors.
This moldy house grows hate,
Violence and lies.
I'm trapped in a state
Of death and soundless cries.
But come outside, and you will see
What the earth can truly be.
Here, love and kindness will invade,
Pens raised, nothing hidden in shade,
Light and right to a happy life,
Freedom from cruelty, pain, and strife:
This is where we're meant to be.
This is what it means to be Charlie.
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It's hard to find people that write in French on this site. I've only taken 2 years, but I was able to understand most of it.
My opinion probably isn't a popular one, but I'm not grieving the lost journalists. While I don't sympathize with the terrorists, and I wholeheartedly join in the outcry against the violence, Charlie Hebdo has been producing disgusting anti-Islam/anti-Muslim propaganda. Hatred begets hatred.
I am not Charlie.
I see what you mean; I don't condone their drawings and insults, but I support their rights to express themselves without fear of losing their lives. Thank you for your opinion, that took a lot of guts to disagree with everyone and I'm proud that you've stood up for what you believe in!
I just can't get past the fact what they have been producing is essentially hate speech and I don't believe in freedom of hate speech. Europe is becoming a dangerous place for Muslims and I'm very scared for them.
Regardless of my opinion, though, I still think what you have is a powerful, relevant piece. The fact that you wrote this in French is seriously impressive!
I am Charlie.
This poem is amazing.
I don't seem its right either way murder is murder but I do think you're really awesome that you made this tribute to the 12. I really liked how you did in in the 12's language and also English for those who do not know another language. To the actual piece it was well written and had it's own life to it seemed which was really great. I liked how you started with this
"I am Charlie, though I have many names:
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity,
All the same. "
I thought it was a great way to start the poem. Overall, really good job and I'm glad you made this tribute.
Yet 2000 people are killed in Nigeria and there's no tribute?
What kinda screwed up world is this?
5 million tweets, tribute poems of 12 people which sure it's horrible it's a tragedy but somehow we don't care about 2000 people.
What kind of world do we live in where we send 5 million tweets dedicated to 12 people killed yet there isn't even one dedicated to 2000 people.
Does this seem right to you?
No, you know what, it doesn't seem right, but I've thought about this a lot and here's what I've come up with. The tragedy of murder is the same whether it's one person or two people or twelve people or two thousand people. Murder's existence is man's greatest tragedy, and that's the extended meaning of this poem, I think. But I chose the twelve because I didn't know about the two thousand in Nigeria (ignorance, too, is a tragedy but one we are all victims of in the end) and because I'm too overwhelmed by the tragedy of the thousands dying for their faith in Syria to be coherent. I had to pick one tragedy to write about, and this is what I chose. I'm sorry if that bothers you, but look at it this way: tributes don't have to be poems or tweets. Your knowledge of what happened alone, and your pointing it out to me is a tribute to those people in and of itself. Thank you for being more informed than the rest of us. Keep that mindset, and maybe you'll actually change the world for the better, unlike most of us.
Yes, I thought about that as well, which is one reason why I'm generally preferring to stay out of all these things. But it seems to me that this has turned into a demonstration against the darker aspects of Islam, something that likely causes more grief outside of this incident ^^ But yes, you're right. A much greater example of this was during the Boston bombings. France and America are kinda more mainstream, and people are wired to care more about things closer to them.
"France and America are kind of more mainstream"... *in the West. Their not more mainstream to the people in Nigeria or Ghana, who I'm sure were also disturbed by this incident nonetheless.
Beautiful poem (thanks for the translation i only know like three words in French since I never took it in high school)
It's nice to see poems about the incident, as all the news seem to just repeat things and blame people; especially since this is a writing website, it's important to not back down in these situations, we are free to express ourselves and will not be silenced.
My heart goes out to the people involved in the horror that goes on in France.
Nice work, keep up the good work
Bravo.
Wow this is amazing. My mom was gasping when she read this poem. this is the most touching poetry I have ever read!
This is amazing. I love the French, even though I don't know any XD
This is very beautiful, and you should really continue writing more like this. French is a beautiful language, and I hope you write more poems, or maybe something else, in this language
I only found one grammatical error while reading through the English (idk if French punctuation is any different, so I didn't look for that).
"This moldy house grows hate,
Violence and lies." there just needs to be a comma after violence.
One reason I was intrigued by this was that it reminded me of a video two actors from my favorite show took. Have you seen Merlin?
Who are the twelve poets you talked of in the A/N?
-Pendr
Thank you for your kind review! I have seen Merlin, such a great show XD
I actually made a mistake in the A/N. Ten journalists were killed in a terrorist attack at the headquarters of the famous French satiric journal, Charlie Hebdo, which had recently published many offensive comics about the Muslim prophet Muhammad. Two police officers were murdered at the scene as well, which is why I miscounted. And then today, the two suspects were killed after several explosions at a nearby French paper plant, and four of the nine hostages they took were killed. As a result, a movement has started to protest the terrorism, and this movement is punctuated by the motto: Je suis Charlie, meaning that the protestors believe in the right to free speech. This poem is a tribute to them, but I suggest you follow the story for yourself; it's heartbreaking, but necessary to learn about. Thank you so much for your review! (Sorry if you already knew all of that and I missed the point of your question; I hate talking to people as if they know nothing, because I know you do, but I also think these events are too important for people not to know more about, y'know?)
Sweet! Merlin is literally my favorite show, and one of the many fictional things that have emotionally destroyed me.
I didn't know any of that because I live in the US, and I never watch/read the news (I wish I did, but my parents don't like to, so we never have). Thank you for explaining all that to me because, you're right, it is horribly sad and painful but also necessary to know about. I love to hear of protests and movements for equal rights; they are so powerful. And, yes, I hate talking to people as if they know nothing but I know they actually do know something.
Thanks again
Very meaningful and powerful poetry. It's a very inspirational poem and message and will forever be in my heart and soul.
I really think that this is a really good piece. you even translated it into French for any of the French people out there on Young Writers Society. You rhyme well and good, the rhythm of the poem is neat and the meaning of the poem is strong and I really liked it. There are a lot you could have written but you chose a wise one. A real wise one.
Here, I give you a few tips you could use for your poems, if you write anymore. It will be great and hopefully, it will attract more readers to read your poems.
Number one: You could separate the stanzas of the poem using "Shift + Enter".
Number two: You can just post one language per post, and the other language on another post, making it easier for the reader to read.
Number three: Do not really use colons as it does not really affect in a poem in almost any way. But we could still use it, but I do not really know how. Sorry about that.
Number four: Try and give a hidden meaning in any poem. There will be an obvious meaning, and a hidden one, one that only people who reads and understand the poem fully will see the message behind it. This will enhance your poem even more. And it will also feel special.
Number five: Put your full emotion into the poem. Use all of your mind and heart to do it.
Very good so far, I will be looking forward to your next poem, if there is an another one.
I promise to drop a like on this poem sometime tomorrow. I cross my fingers and cross my heart, i will drop a like maybe sometime tomorrow. If possible, I will try it today.
~~Tay01, Lover and Number One Fan of an old film of Walt Disney's, Finding Nemo.
I like it a lot. I think it really captures the message of what Charlie is all about, which is expressing your opinion and using your freedom of press to speak what you want. At the same time, I do feel that it is a bit short, and there could have been some more added to it. But overall, I do like it a lot. Good job!