IN
MEMORY OF HAVANNES SHIRAZ
Translated from Armenian
by Daniel Janoyan
Los Angeles, CA, June 23, 1997
You did worship the Armenian nation,
The Armenian sorrows made you crazy.
You did worship the MASSIS summit,
And like MASSIS you became noble.
I do adore you O great Shiraz,
There is only one MASSIS and also one Shiraz.
Many things have been said,
And many things have been written;
Pardon me if I may say about ARARAT,
And today I too will continue saying about MASSIS,
And about those worshipping MASSIS.
Pardon me O great Shiraz,
You, who were able to bear countless pains;
The Armenian sorrows made you crazy.
You had cried thousand and one times
For tortures brought unto you from the past.
You are that biblical poet with a great heart just like MASSIS.
Even your tears were so big just like the lake of VAN.
O ye Armenians, alien Armenians,
With heads bent down ask pardon from Shiraz.
Ask countless pardons from the spring flower
From our monarch, who is Shiraz.
O ye Armenians, alien Armenians,
Ask pardon from our dream,
From the very tomb of our Shiraz.
Pardon me Shiraz, we are still spread
Around the world under countless stars.
When will we be united and get in tact
With AKHTAMAR, SEVAN, and also MASSIS?
Years will pass by and the future Armenian child
Will not even attempt to remember
Who is MASHTOTS, our alphabet inventor.
Nor who is TIGRAN, who once wore the Armenian crown.
Which one to tell and which one to leave,
Pardon me please, pardon me Shiraz.
When will Armenia ever give birth to another Shiraz
Calling upon his people to return to the fatherland?
Never will there be born another Shiraz!
Pardon me Shiraz, forgive me for my sins;
It’s been so many years I’ve been dying
And also longing for my Armenian land.
Pardon me God; tell me O God,
Why did you allow Shiraz to die
For we are now in need of Shiraz more than ever.
At this time when the Armenia nation
Is being devoured by many alien seas.
For the alien Armenian and for MASSIS
There is a need for noble Shiraz to be around.
Shiraz is indeed alive, he is not dead yet!
I can clearly see Massis within Shiraz.
Pardon me O ye roaring Armenian poet,
As you’ve been the spirit of our Armenian land.
Pardon me O ye great Shiraz,
You are indeed noble and also alive.
UNDECIDED DAYS
Translated from Armenian
by Daniel Janoyan
Los Angeles, CA, July 15, 1999
My eyes open up with the day light sun
That’s when my day begins with suspicion.
Later my day ends in an absurd way,
That’s when it becomes dark, silent and depressing.
My eyes are shut when the moon is up,
That’s when my spirit begins to whisper in the dark.
Just like when speaking with the Lord
Just like having stars within my spirit.
And so every morning
I become folded into my lost light
But when my heart is close to the dark night
It seems I am once again created.
LAZY SOLITUDE
Translated from Armenian
by Daniel Janoyan
Glendale, CA, December 30, 1999
The lazy solitude gets undressed quietly
And knocks at my door very silently.
This magical midnight poison
Makes my heart bitter very often.
It makes me sit on my very bed
And throws me over like a lunatic.
I hold tight its very hands
And we both begin dancing together.
It's good there is no one next to me,
Otherwise he'd call me a confused poet indeed.
May God never keep a human being lonely
So that he won't be betrayed by the call of love.
Let lovers approach their stars only
And keep them living by their very living dreams.
Let the sad gray days turn into a rainbow
Doing away with misery never to return again
.
The lazy solitude gets undressed quietly
And knocks at my door very silently.
A BLACK AND DARK NIGHT
Written by Anahid Yeremian
Translated by Daniel janoyan
Glendale, CA July 29, 1997
It's a black and dark night,
But I am still awake
With my very distant memories
And my lost childhood days.
My heart is in pain
And my dream destroyed.
It's like a strong smell
And a million pain.
But let me continue to sleep,
not to feel anything;
I have nothing else to possess,
I need not come or go anyplace.
Return to Armenian Poetry Homepage
last updated January 26, 2000