19
Can we live without love?
In Kyrgyzstan, in Armenia,
In Brittany, in Venezuela,
Without sharing his emotions,
With God or Saint Joseph,
Regardless of his birth,
The color of his skin,
No matter how much he’s worth,
Can we live without love?
In Greece or the Cyclades,
In the sun or under the Big Dipper,
In the light, in a dungeon,
Can we live without love?
20
Can we live without love?
In Rio, or in Calcutta,
in Marrakech or in Berlin,
in Paris or in Marseille,
at the sea, in the countryside,
No matter how hard you try,
To suspend time, or anything
No one will read your rondeau,
Can we live without love?
In Brest or Carcassonne,
In the gardens of the Essonne,
In the flowery countryside
Or in Véronique’s bed?
Today’s blessing comes from the author L. R. Knost
who, with the wisdom and knowledge she brings
reminds us as human beings and parents
of two very important things:
She teaches us that it is not our job
to make our children tough enough to face
a world that is heartless and cruel
(Certainly this should be taught every day in every school)
It’s our job to raise children who will make their world
a little less heartless and cruel.
And she reminds us wherever children are murdered
whether in Israel,
Palestine,
Armenia,
Syria
Ukraine,
America
or Algiers…
every father screams the same screams
and every mother cries the same tears.
In the land of Armenia, Christians face death each day
The Land of Azerbajan, encroaches and causes affray
A line of troops however hold, the opposing sides at bay
It suprised my mind to know (they are not from un or USA.'
Those who make ethnic boxes on forms we must check.
Who of those get lost in life's shuffle who holds the deck?
Irk! It's insanity, those who think Jesus loves them most.
Long live humanity—Armenia was the first Christian host!
There are those who use Christianity to end their rant.
They use it only to put forth their political slant.
Those who blame the government and stir up a fuss.
Weren’t they taught early on the government is us?
Those who say they're sorry but show no remorse.
Then do the same things while they ride their high horse.
There once was a man from Armenia
Who stuffed his belly with garcinia
His head in a daze
His eyes looked all crazed
The tombstone read, 'Died of Anemia'
You Armenians who question my identity...
Who whisper behind my back and smirk
Considering me a half breed
Not pure
The child of a mixed marriage
You who refuse to speak to me
In your mother tongue
Because my words falter
And my accent is disgraceful
You who turn your back on me
Unwilling to ratify
My identity
Unable to include me
In your inner circle
Of the chosen purebreds
Be ashamed!!!
Yes, be ashamed and hang your heads
My identity is not based
On the language I speak
Nor the knowledge I know
Nor my appearance
Or customs I follow
Slash my wrists
Slash them both and see…
Let the blood flow
And mingle with the red
Of the blood of the martyrs
Splashed on the Armenian flag
See also the orange in my blood
Reflecting the color of the fertile land
That brings forth the nourishing wheat
See also the magnificent blue of my veins
Matching the blue of the flag
The color of the pure sky
That looks down and smiles
And blesses my beloved country
My motherland……
Armenia!
For Nathan A's Contest
In Wiltshire the stone circle lays
It looks to the endless visage of the skies
Above it peregrine falcon flies
At night owl gives its bone chilling cries
N o one knows what truly is the purpose of those stones?
One day they found there skeleton full of bones
For their time achievements such as this were milestones
But its purpose is one of enduring unknowns
Similar but even older stone circle in Armenia is found
And it is one of the oldest manmade structures around
Makes me wonder if it is the place where old king would be crowned
And what secrets lie beneath its ground
The stones are placed above water ways
The ability for at that age to put the stones in this form will amaze
Their beauty sets my soul a blaze
As a gift to humanity it is hard to apprise
The mirror like mind essence reflects the visage of the soul
The abyss in which serpent flies appears if unknown variables are solved one and all
The reflection from a point of view of beyond abstract allows the serpent to reach its goal
To be one with sublime divine force that uses Stonehenge as transmitter and old coin as a control
Words have no more Meaning
I find myself Deadlocked
In an Ethiopian Night
I Could go recklessly on
But with what Hope?
Will I Glide on?
The Only thing I can find is woe
only woe, only me, woe is me
Voided since the start
I'm contradictory in Armenia
desert Mountains are more like rusty daggers
pierced in my stomach; what else is there but pain?
only pain, only me, pain is me
Dear old St. Gregory spent fifteen years
trapped at the bottom of a dungeon
around 301 AD, bringing Christianity to Armenia.
What madness then drove him to save the king and his men?
What boundless love!
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.