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A continuing selection of classic and contemporary poems.

A Emmett Till [French]

James A. Emanuel

Ce sifflet, là-bas,
Qui vient de la rivière,
C’est Emmett, le petit gars
Qu’on a cru tuer hier.
Dans les eaux noires
Où flotte sa mémoire,
Dans le silence glacé,
Voyez-le danser.
Oh ! contez-moi
Comme aux enfants sages
La légende du petit gars
De la rivière qui nage
Au milieu des trésors
Longtemps après sa mort
Et qui porte au cou
Le corail d’une roue.

Translated by Jean Migrenne

© 1991 James A. Emanuel. All rights reserved.
From Whole Grain: Collected Poems, 1958-1989 | Lotus Press, 1991
Reprinted by permission of the author.
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