le salut sans drapeau

Playing with these flags I got the idea to google for "no flag" and was interested to find a poem in French called "le salut sans drapeau".

My French is not flawless but I think it is a greeting to everybody all over the world regardless of country, sex, race or social status - especially the ones who are victim of those boundaries, they will not only inherit the earth but they will also have the universe - to appease their great hunger ... it's not an easy-peasy poem, there's quite a lot of bitterness in it.

Having no flag means not to be accepted by any country. My ancestors came from different countries, most in Europe I think but maybe also from Asia. My fathers family were mainly from France, seeking refuge from the Catholics because of their religion. They were accepted in this flat and muddy country were the government is friendly and the streets are cold, where the morals are high and the mountains were built to keep the water out. I am lucky not to be without a flag. But I can still understand the feelings of the man who wrote this poem.


le cercle est fermé
tous les péchés sont absous
toutes les dettes karmiques ont été payées
et il ne reste plus que ce chant
qui monte incessamment
tous les bâtards du monde se sont enfin unies
et n'ayant jamais eu de pays
ils se donnent une planète
et c'est encore trop peu
pour leur immense appétit

by Jean-Marc Cormier