Stay with me, Armenia

As a child, I stacked my toys,
pretending every lopsided mess was Ararat.
I’d clutch at the side of my mountaintop,
embracing every rock in full throttled hand-hugs —
so this was “Armenia.” 

Armenia, Armenia,
you are changing, removed by regimes
that are not my own.
Foreign lands —
they pillage you, pull you,
from the Armenians,
for whom you have always made a home.
The toy towers keep crumbling. 

What stands between us?
Not me, not you,
but centuries of annihilation,
diasporas moved. 

Armenia —
I grasp you with fervor,
do not lose you with grace,
plead for your eternity.

Stay with me, always. 

Danielle Mikaelian

Danielle Mikaelian

Danielle Mikaelian is the descendant of Armenian Genocide survivors who fled to the United States. Mikaelian is a graduate of Columbia University with a bachelor’s in English Literature. She currently attends Harvard Law School. Mikaelian served as Columbia University’s Armenian Society president and currently serves as co-president of the Harvard Armenian Law Students Association. Mikaelian has been named as a two-time Huys Foundation Scholar, Armenian Bar Association scholarship recipient, Arisdine Krikorian scholarship recipient, WhoWeAre scholarship recipient, Armenian Professional Society scholarship recipient and more due to her commitment to the Armenian cause. Mikaelian was also a 2024 mentee in the International Armenian Literary Alliance Mentorship Program. She is a published poet and plans to move to New York after graduating to work for a law firm. Mikaelian is originally from Thousand Oaks, California.
Danielle Mikaelian

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