Figure of Armen

from The Serpent and The Crane by Alan Semerdjian and Aram Bajakian

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lyrics

FIGURE OF ARMEN
Alan Semerdjian

for Marlene Edoyan

The man erupted from the earthquake
sits miraculously at the side of the road,
ducks the clouds, leans against a tree.

He is fearless, wears a suit in the sun,
walks to feed his animal. He will recite
the poem that pulls him into the land.
A piano, a priest’s melody for the rest
of the story. There is this other country

shut out from itself on both sides.
Above it only sheets on these clotheslines.
Below it only ghosts in the miracle village.

Children made of dust sing songs
in the wind. Mothers introduce themselves
as scarves in the last deportations.

Fingers continue to strike the keys, speak
till the screen fades and then speak again
in another spot under the same sun,
same land, same mountain in the distance
folk cry. “A people will never succumb

to war,” he says, stepping over the cracks,
walking away and towards me at once.

credits

from The Serpent and The Crane, released April 24, 2020

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Alan Semerdjian New York, New York

Songwriter, poet, and educator Alan Semerdjian has been making and performing music in the NYC/Long Island area and beyond since 1990. His entire annotated musical catalog will be available exclusively here on bandcamp by 2023.

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