Armenian Poems/Wishes for Armenia
WHEN bright dews fall on leaf and flower, And stars light up the skies,Then tears and sparks commingled Burst forth from my dim eyes.Forget thee, O Armenia! Nay, rather may I beTransformed into a cypress dark, And so give shade to thee!
The starry sky no comfort brings: To me it seems a veilStrewn with the tears that Ararat Sheds from his summit pale.O graves! O ruins! to my soul Your memory is as dearAs to the lover's thirsting heart The maiden's first love-tear.And shall my spirit after death Oblivions be of you?Nay, but become a flood of tears. And cover you with dew!
Not sword nor chains, abysses deep Nor precipices fell,Not thunder's roll, nor lightning's flash. Nor funeral torch and knell— Not all of these, 'neath death's dark stone Can ever hide from meThe glowing memories of the past, Our days of liberty.Forget you? Ne'er will I forget, O glorious days of yore!Rather may I be changed to fire And bring you back once more!
When twinkle pale the stars at dawn, When dewy buds unclose,And tenderly the nightingale Is singing to the rose,All Nature’s harmonies, alas! Can ne'er give back to meThe sighs that sound where cypress boughs Are moaning like the sea.Forget you, black and bitter days? No, never! but insteadRather may I be turned to blood, And make your darkness red!
Armenia's mountains dark may smile, Siberia's ice may smoke,But stern, unbending spirits still Press on my neck the yoke.Inflexible and cold are they; When feeling surges high,And I would speak, they stifle down My free soul's bitter cry. Forget thee, justice? Never! But ere my life departs,Rather may I become a sword, And make thee pierce men's hearts!
When e'en the rich man and the priest A patriot's ardor feel,And when Armenian hearts at length Are stirred with love and zeal—When free-souled sons Armenia bears, These days of coldness past,And fires of love and brotherhood Are lighted up at last—Shall I forget thee then, my lyre? Ah, no! but when I dieRather may I become thy voice, And o'er Armenia sigh!