And on the same island, in the capital, I came across this sign—the first time I have seen such a message. It was both stern and unambiguous: Ne pas uriner ici!

ne pas

(a sign on a wall in Fort-de-France, Martinique)

It is a pity that civic authorities

Should feel compelled to be so specific;

One might imagine that the bourgeoisie

Would hardly need to be so instructed.

Yet this sign is explicitly not for them:

This is for the seditious, the disrespectful,

The sort of people who deface library books,

Fail to stand for the National Anthem

(Or dance to it, just to show),

Who avoid the agents of the treasury—and the police;

Such people are always with us,

Lower the civic tone, make it necessary

To have signs such as this.

Will they obey it? I’ll bet they don’t:

Such types ignore notices,

Lead their lives just as they wish to lead them,

Pay scant attention, are happy, defy

The sound advice of their betters

And die unrepentant, full of years, relieved.