Beneath this willow-tree we sang
Enchanting songs of love;
We sang and breathed in
Fragrance, smiles, and sorrow.

Beneath this willow, priceless friend,
You promised to love me;
The days went by, the willow withered,

1901

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Be fearful of dark eyes,
Like dark endless nights,
Darkness marvelling, alive with demons,
Do not fall in love with those eyes.

My heart’s become a pool of blood,
These demons have pierced me deep,
And since that time I’ve known but grief,
Do not fall in love with dark eyes.

October 25, 1897
Aleksandrapol /Translated by Leon Megrian/

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Dark, leaden clouds heaped upon your brow,
You were veiled in mist, Alagez.
There was no sunshine within my heart,
It, too, was veiled in mist, Alagez.

I saw your beauteous flanks as I went past,
There is no heart without sorrow;
If only you knew it, dearest Alagez,
There is no sorrow like mine!

O, fairest fowls of Mantash,
If my sorrow were your own,
Your brightly coloured feathers
Would turn black as the night.

O, gentle breezes of Mantash,
If my sorrows were your own,
Your fragrant flowery scents would turn
Into poisonous, suffocating air.

Alas, both my wings are broken, Alagez,
And I have fallen into your bosom;
O, let me press my heart to your grieving heart,
Let me shed tears of blood; O, let me

1898

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Evening came and, entering the houses
One by one, lit up the lamps;
But, alas, it did not visit me,
And my house remained dark like my heart.

All the neighbours returned home from the fields
And sat round their tables for their meal;
What became of you, my dearest brave one,
My eyes, fixed on your road, turned into lakes of tears.

Then came the night and brought dreams
Full of colourful images to those that slept;
But, alas, I was left alone and without sleep,

1900

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 FIRST TEARS

The spring sun with an infinite kiss
Called out the shoots and flowers to life,
And the violet with blue eyes
In artless innocence smiled at everyone.

The zephyr came and whispered
Into its virgin ears, and glided away;
The butterfly came and fluttered
In its soft embrace, and flew away.

And the violet remained looking
After them with deluding reveries;
And from its immaculate eyes fell

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I saw a sea in my dream,
An azure and tranquil lake;
Upon its solitary shore
I had fallen down wounded…

Panting gently and softly,
The sea was in endless thought;
And my deep wound pained me,
While I was powerless in despair.

And a voice flowed into my soul,
A voice from a tender, sacred heart:
It was my mother, calling to me
From the shores of my native land.

1898

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 MOUNT ARARAT

On the ancient peak of Ararat
The centuries have come like seconds,
And passed on.

Have broken upon its diamond crest,
The swords of innumerable lightnings
And passed on.

The eyes of generations dreading death
Have glanced at its luminous summit,
And passed on.

The turn is now yours for a brief while:
You, too, look at its lofty brow,
And pass   on!

1926

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Once I loved, but my love has gone.
They took her and left me a wound.
Oh! cruel is the word and full of woe,
They tore my heart, my love is gone.

Pain strikes deep, yet there is no balm
And with balm, there is no one to heal.
Oh! cruel is the word and full of woe,
With no one here to share my pain.

All my best years have fled away
They uttered a sigh and are gone.
Oh! cruel is the word and full of woe,
Dread heartaches are all that remain.

Odessa, 1898

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"Handsome youth, I would become spring,
That I might adorn you."

"Sweet maiden, if I were the sky,
What would you become?"

"Gentle youth, I would become the sun,
That I might consume your heart!"

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The night came, the cool breeze blew,
And the stars called out to the moon;
The moon rose, then slid into the blue sea,
And the fowls called out to me.

I stood up, filled with inspiration,
And plucked the cords of my heart.
My heart laughed, my bosom throbbed,
And the cords were broken....

Only the cord of love remained
In the infinite depths of my heart;
And the ardent song of love shone
In all the folds of my life...

1895

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This road winding-meandering,
Snakes around the black sea-
My sweetheart Shushan having left me:
Where is she going with that guy?

Oh, the road-orifice of death,
Like a snake slithering goes;
[I am] In the fields graveless,
The sea weeps over me.

A lofty eagle pecks my eye[s],
My eye[s] yearning for Shushan;
The merciless wolf is devouring my heart,
My heart thirsting for Shushan.

And the road darkly winding,
Around the black sea leads;
My sweetheart Shushan, her hands bloodstained,

  Translated by Sonia Ketchian

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When I die, oh, bury me
Upon the slopes of Alagez,
That the winds from Mantash
May blow upon me and depart:

That all around my grave
The cornfields may sparkle,
And the willows, with hair loose,
Lean over me and shed sweet tears....

1899

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