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Ode to the Sun
Vahan Tekeyan
In the evening, in the shadows, I sing to the sun
that
has created the dark by absence.
Like the face of God, Sun, you are far
from touch, but near enough to feel.
I sing to you from the dark of
night
that you make when you depart.
Like God who also creates
evil
when he forgets us, you create the dark world.
But 1 sing to you
the new sun,
from this deep night that engulfs
a world of souls,
as I
wait for the strength and light
that will break when you crack
this
harsh dark.
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About The Poet
Vahan Tekeyan
(1878-1948)
Vahan Tekeyan was known as a perfectionist, because he always looked for the
precise word. He was born in Istanbul in 1978 and educated in the Armenian
schools there. His first poems were collected and published in 1901. Besides his
own books, he published translations of French symbolist poetry and the sonnets
of Shakespeare. The sonnet remained his favorite form.
During the 1896 persecutions, Tekeyan left
Istanbul for Europe. He returned, but subsequently settled in Egypt, where he
was active in Armenian political life and edited the Armenian newspaper,
Arev.
His books are "Burdens" (1901), "The Wonderful
Rebirth" (1914), "From Midnight Until Dawn" (1918), "Love" (1933), "Armenian
Songs" (1943), and "Book of Odes" (1944).
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