Thus, I serenely stroll under the star of the Illuminator…
And, like mellow drops of honey, his light drips into my soul…
The star-studded night hums like an immense silver organ…
The white light of the new moon spills onto the snow…
Now, without a sound, stroll the specters of my forebears
Around the majestic Sevan … Sevan is now a blue sea of flames
Beneath bleached arches … Sevan is now a lighthearted dance
Of lissome maidens, meandering, resonant of mystery…
In the distance, summit to summit, white mountains shimmer…
As if this biosphere were a peaceful cathedral of tranquility
Beneath the star of the Illuminator—a holy land of stone-crosses,
Vacant palace in obscurity, waiting for the arrival of its prince…
… Thus, I serenely stroll under the star of the Illuminator…
–––––––––– Zaven Surmelian
Paris, 1924
Translated by Tatul Sonentz
Source: Armenian Weekly
Link: Poem: Under the Star of the Illuminator