MYRMIDONS SPRING DEATH

    By Bedros Afeyan


    Soul of my nation, fragile as summer day is long
    April horses drag cannons to pieces in desert scorn
    Womb of song, toil, tilled to perfection, cranial masquerade
    Bloody tents, raped prayers, our books torn in limb and page


    Scream an unvoiced anger, in a treeless forest, where one hand slaps
    Ringing rage through kingdoms lost in coins of the peering realm
    Massacre the helpless children covered in their mother's urine stains
    Crosses across their chests beaten by scimitars in phallic contraband


    Absent identity, barbarians pound their chests borrowing, looting graves
    French culture one day, German the next, hunters from Far East in their veins
    Miracle of pretense, wild as boars in heat, descend upon innocent pastures
    Emerge as vainqueurs, holding hostage marinated history strands in caves


    While legs curl to weep, choke, chained. While they leave a dirge undrained
    Reconstitute a future rich in uncertainty, rich in praise for the blessings gained
    Songs made purer, poems sadder than a bird leaving its final nesting place
    Howling nights rough throat moans embrace the darkest threats


    But we are still here, and here we shall pile our odds to heaven stretched.
    Rejuvenated shores less morbid and Turkic in death's tenor
    Less faith frothing absolute terror, with seduction options assimilationist
    Kemalists, Young Turks, criminals from Macedonia not withstanding


    A hundred and three reprieves, pending arguments, strengthening brows
    Violinists to wits, bankers and deal makers united in sheer mad feasts.



    Chicago, Illinois
    April 11, 2017


--
Dr. Bedros Afeyan is a theoretical physicist who works and lives in
the Bay area with his wife, Marine. He writes in Armenian and in
English and also paints and sculpts.



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