The Armenian Language

The Armenian language is an orchard where I walk under green trees growing in the shadow of the past. The words are clustered fruit I pick one by one. My Armenian language is a garden I love, that grows beside a ruined palace; heavy boughs alive with the flow of sap and sun. I walk the shade of fruit trees and admire their arching branches, their wide roots amazed how they weathered the storms that felled the vast countryside. I hold rounded words, fruits both tart and sweet with juices uncounted suns made ripe; words that anoint the lips, bless the palate and give comfort to the heart. (1913) Vahan Tekeyan (1878-1948) From an "Anthology of Armenian Poetry" (c) 1978 Diana Der Hovanessian, Columbia University Press.m