PATTERNS

* * *

The sea was so very clear!
The tremors of the slumbering waves
By the shore
Had woven countless Arabian patterns
Out of the fine sands.
I looked and had no heart to enter the water.
But how can one refrain from spoiling
Defenceless beauty?
I entered the sea,
and the water became blurred,
The fairy-tale woven pattern was destroyed.
I swam forward,
But the spoiling of those attractive patterns
Continued to weigh on my conscience.
Then,
Lying on the shore
I pondered for a long time:
How very easy it is in this world
To blur water and destroy patterns!

-Paruir MIKAELIAN (b. 1924)
translation by Mischa K., 1974

::: ::: :::

[Picture: Rosette grise by reading_is_dangerous]

If he had a beard? If he was drinking wine? Yes, I think so. Unfortunately I could not find anyone who could tell me about Mikaelian. . . one of the most unknown Armenian poets, he appears to be.

How easy is it to destroy patterns indeed! They
come back