Coal black sky,
awakens repressed memories.
Whispers of angels silenced.
You are not forgotten,
the moon watched
while humanity looked away,
one hundred years of denial.
Grandpa,
I stood beside you as a boy,
and as a man I carry you in my heart.
Your kind but dark eyes,
pieced my consciousness with
stories of your plight,
living in a cave,
marching in the desert,
eating weeds and plants.
You were a baby boy orphaned,
grief held your hand.
You were too young to remember
your mother's love
your mother's embrace.
The emptiness,
and the sadness lingered.
The oppressors sought to destroy,
they sought deportation,
humiliation,
death.
The oppressors wished
to erase you
and our bloodline.
One hundred years of denial,
echo like whispers,
reverberate from the earth
of those that perished.
You survived
to flourish
you survived
to tell your story
the darkness always in the shadows
of each day.
Grandpa,
I remember.
Grandpa,
your words are not forgotten,
I retell my children of those dark days,
of their legacy,
of survival rich with
honor of your life.
Grandpa,
I stood beside you as a child,
as a man I carry you in my heart.
This is dedicated to my husband and his grandpa, a survivor of the Armenian Genocide. This is dedicated to all the grandchildren and children of the survivors. We must never forget the atrocities committed.
beautiful honoring
ReplyDeleteALOHA from Honolulu,
ComfortSpiral
=^..^=
yes - we must never forget - and so many died - it is horrible - glad that he lived to tell the story...
ReplyDeleteHow very touching Ayala ~ Never forget those years, never forget the lessons learned those times ~ I am happy that you are sharing your stories to your children & grandchildren ~
ReplyDeleteGood to see you Ayala ~ Wishing you a lovely week & hope to read more of your heart felt writing ~
This is very touching. We should indeed 'never forget'. A Jewish friend of mine from France was raised in an area where there were many Jews and Armenians and the two communities were quite close because of both having gone through a horrific genocide.
ReplyDeleteI stood beside you as a boy, and as a man I carry you in my heart...these lines are so very dear. No, we must never forget and we must always honor those who live to tell the truths of such horrors. hayes Spencer is Kanzensakura.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you wrote this poem which commemorates the Armenian genocide. It is something which we must all remember...really. I am glad you are continuing to retell the tales to your children. We must never forget.
ReplyDeleteSuch an important message in your poem. "I stood beside you as a child,
ReplyDeleteas a man I carry you in my heart" well said.
I think this is the only way to go on.. I think it's a shame that this genocide can be continue to be denied. To have it in your blood make it so much more real.
ReplyDeleteThis was a moving piece. And not something we can forget. Not something we should forget. It was barely touched in our history books in India, and they still refuse to add it. I wish they do.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful tribute to honor a not-to-be-forgotten people! Sadly, atrocities against Christian ethnic groups are escalating in our world.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a heartfelt tribute, and I'm sure that he is proud to be carried in your heart. Even after all he went through, he was loved and as long as you carry that, he (and what happened) will never be forgotten.
ReplyDeleteA moving and heartfelt tribute Ayala and let us not forget. Sadly mans inhumanity to man continues - we learn nothing...
ReplyDeleteAnna
This gave me the chills--so much genocide in our own era--this, the holocaust and now in the middle east. It is horrific. I can never understand such hatred.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful tribute, Ayala. Sending love. xo
ReplyDeleteThe tribal outlines of death go so deep
ReplyDeletein the memories held so close
of ancestors so brave that
make that way
for
us
to live as now..:)