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The Literary Groong - 04/01/2006

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	HISTORY LESSON

	By Alan Semerdjian


	The word, `Turkish,'
	so sweet, so brutish.
	The word, `Armenian,'
	in the roof of your mouth.

	We make love
	between turns
	we take
	to say them,

	these two words
	like stars in singing
	constellations burning
	the distance between them,

	utter each consonant,
	suck each vowel like
	the tail of an oud, thrust
	each syllable,

	purse the Turkish
	lip like sugar,
	mention that
	Armenian is

	more gauche,
	like a horse,
	a spit in the dark.
	But you're not Turkish,

	though I'd wish you'd be,
	so I could lick back
	your desert sun
	with a tongue on your cheek.

	But you're Armenian  you might say,
	you're not supposed to
	like these things, or

	you might not know
	all they left behind,
	that love is a product
	of what distance never finds.

	*

--
Alan Semerdjian is an Armenian-American poet, essayist, songwriter,
visual and performance artist/teacher who has been recognized for his
work. His writings have been published in numerous print and online
magazines, and a chapbook of his poetry entitled "An Improvised
Device" was published by lock n load publishing in 2005.  Alan also
recently released a CD of new songs called "When There Was Something
Wrong With You" that is gaining lots of favorable attention from
critics and local press.  His digital home for work is
http://www.alanarts.com/

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