History of Armenia
from The Serpent and The Crane by Aram Bajakian & Alan Semerdjian
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lyrics
THE HISTORY OF ARMENIA
Peter Balakian, Father Fisheye, Sheep Meadow Press, 1979
Last night
my grandmother returned
in the brown dress
and high black shoes
standing on Oraton Parkway
where we used to walk
and watch the highway
being dug out.
She stood against
a backdrop of steam hammers
and bulldozers,
a bag of fruit
in her hand,
the wind blowing
through her eyes.
I was running
toward her
in a drizzle
with the morning paper.
When I told her
I was hungry—
she said,
in the grocery store
a man is standing
to his ankles in blood,
the babies in East Orange
have disappeared
maybe eaten by
the machinery
on this long road.
When I asked for my mother—
she said, gone,
all gone.
The girls went for soda,
maybe the Coke was bad
the candy sour.
This morning the beds
are empty, water off,
the toilets dry.
When I went to the garden
for squash
only stump was there,
when I went to clip
parsley
only a hole.
We walked past piles
of gray cinder and cement
trucks, there were no men.
She said Grandpa left
in the morning
in the dark;
he had pants to press
for the firemen of
East Orange.
They called him
in the middle of night,
West Orange was burning
Montclair was burning
Bloomfield and Newark
were gone.
One woman carried
the arms of her child
to East Orange last night
and fell on her uncle’s
stoop, two boys came
with the skin
of their legs
in their pockets
and turned themselves in
to local officials;
this morning sun
is red and spreading.
If I go to sleep
tonight, she said,
the ceiling will open
and bodies will fall
from clouds. Yavrey
where is the angel,
where is the angel
without sword, yavrey
where is the angel
without six fingers
and a missing leg
where is the angel
with the news that the river
is coming back,
the angel with the word
that the water will be clear
and have fish.
Grandpa is pressing
pants, they came for him
before the birds were up—
he left without shoes
or tie, without shirt
or suspenders.
It was quiet
the birds, the birds
were still sleeping.
Peter Balakian, Father Fisheye, Sheep Meadow Press, 1979
Last night
my grandmother returned
in the brown dress
and high black shoes
standing on Oraton Parkway
where we used to walk
and watch the highway
being dug out.
She stood against
a backdrop of steam hammers
and bulldozers,
a bag of fruit
in her hand,
the wind blowing
through her eyes.
I was running
toward her
in a drizzle
with the morning paper.
When I told her
I was hungry—
she said,
in the grocery store
a man is standing
to his ankles in blood,
the babies in East Orange
have disappeared
maybe eaten by
the machinery
on this long road.
When I asked for my mother—
she said, gone,
all gone.
The girls went for soda,
maybe the Coke was bad
the candy sour.
This morning the beds
are empty, water off,
the toilets dry.
When I went to the garden
for squash
only stump was there,
when I went to clip
parsley
only a hole.
We walked past piles
of gray cinder and cement
trucks, there were no men.
She said Grandpa left
in the morning
in the dark;
he had pants to press
for the firemen of
East Orange.
They called him
in the middle of night,
West Orange was burning
Montclair was burning
Bloomfield and Newark
were gone.
One woman carried
the arms of her child
to East Orange last night
and fell on her uncle’s
stoop, two boys came
with the skin
of their legs
in their pockets
and turned themselves in
to local officials;
this morning sun
is red and spreading.
If I go to sleep
tonight, she said,
the ceiling will open
and bodies will fall
from clouds. Yavrey
where is the angel,
where is the angel
without sword, yavrey
where is the angel
without six fingers
and a missing leg
where is the angel
with the news that the river
is coming back,
the angel with the word
that the water will be clear
and have fish.
Grandpa is pressing
pants, they came for him
before the birds were up—
he left without shoes
or tie, without shirt
or suspenders.
It was quiet
the birds, the birds
were still sleeping.
credits
from The Serpent and The Crane,
released April 24, 2020
license
all rights reserved
tags
about
Aram Bajakian New York
The music of guitarist, composer and educator Aram Bajakian has been called “a masterpiece” (fRoots, July 2017), “shape-
shifting” (FreeJazzCollective, January 2017), and “astonishing” (Georgia Straight, March 2017).
He has toured extensively with Lou Reed and Diana Krall, and is on three Tzadik albums with the band Abraxas performing the music of John Zorn.
... more
discography
-
Apr 2020 -
Mar 2020 -
Apr 2017 -
Jan 2014
contact / help
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