Hovhannes Tumanian, 1916
Translated by Tatul Sonentz
And I stood up, as our ancient custom dictates,
To summon peace for my butchered kinsmen’s souls,
For hamlet and town, hill and dale from sea to sea,
Cut down in thousands, demolished and lifeless…
In the crimson flames of Armenia’s inferno, I blazed,
Flaming, once more, in the heart of that cold, serene sky,
One by one, I lit the towering candles of Armenia’s peaks,
Masis and Ara, Sipan and Srmants, Nemrut, Tangureq,
And the Holy Lantern on Aragatz, like a distant sun
Overhead, remote, apart, burning ever bright…
Like Masis itself, I stood glaring, alone and firm
Calling on the doomed souls scattered beyond time,
Beyond Mesopotamia, Assyria, the Sea of the Armens,
Beyond Hellespont, beyond the raging shores of the Pontus…
“Rest in peace, orphans… sorrow rings hollow, at best…
Man, the cannibal, shall long remain a savage beast…”
As raging Euphrates and roaring Tigris, on my right and left,
Rushed forth in gaping chasms, chanting Psalms in shrill tones,
Clouds arose from the massive censer of the Dzirav gorge,
Starting at the Tzaghkants heights of the Armenian Chain,
In fragrant wisps, they moved to far distant points,
To sprinkle pearls, to spread flower scents as incense,
Beyond Mesopotamia, Assyria, and the sea of the Armens,
Beyond Hellespont, beyond the raging shores of the Pontus…
“Rest in peace, my orphans… sorrow rings hollow, at best…
Man, the cannibal, shall long remain a savage beast…”
Tatul Sonentz-Papazian
Latest posts by Tatul Sonentz-Papazian (see all)
- Battle Everlasting - October 6, 2021
- Beyond Genocide - April 15, 2021
- On the Threshold of the 106th Commemoration of the Genocide - March 31, 2021
Be the first to comment