Panegyric of the Light

	By Armenoui Minassian

	Fireflies unbending
	Twinkle in the night,
	The murk is disturbing
	In a wink by the light.

	And even such fleeting
	But noble revelation
	Of light is becoming
	An unfading vision.

	The light is kind, is bold,
	The light is just and saint,
	It's honesty untold
	And the sign unfeigned.

	The fearless are born
	To open new passes,
	To shine like a pharos
	Upon the uncharted seas.

	The heroes are falling
	But becoming new stars,
	That light reigns as a king
	From the Venus till Mars.

	I am singing this song
	Of all fallen heroes
	That among the living
	Their endeavors never die.

	I am bowing my head
	For new rising heroes,
	Giving my thanks ahead
	For their mission and course.

	The light is kind, is bold
	The light is just and saint,
	It's honesty untold
	And the sign unfeigned.


Armenoui Minassian was born in the village of Mughni in Ashtarak
District, Armenia in 1954.  In 1971 she graduated from #1 Secondary
School of Ashtarak city with honors, nominated for a Gold Medal. In
1977 she graduated from the Yerevan State University with a Masters
degree in Armenian Language and Literature and in Teaching.  For
several years she worked as a teacher in #155 Secondary school of
Yerevan.

Armenoui started to write poetry when she was 10. Her first poem was
broadcast by Armenian radio when she was in the third grade.  She
received her first award for reading her poetry in the Scholastic
Olympics competition in 1966. Her first article was published in the
Ashtarak district Newspaper in 1972.  Although she never stopped
writing, being a mother and having a full-time job took much of her
time for the next 20 years.

Armenoui migrated to the United States in 1993. In 2001, a collection
of her poetry was published in Los Angeles under the title
"Veratsnund".  Her poems have appeared in "Hi Life", "Asbarez",
"Azdarar", "New Mirage Quarterly" and in several anthologies including
"The Best Poets and Poems of 2002".

Her new poetry collection "Mundane Yearnings", written in Armenian, is
ready for publication. Recently she started to write song lyrics both
in English and Armenian.