now the ship is a blowing whistle of leaving
a bit of truth that didn’t remain with us
to build a ship from it
and to call that ship
happiness

voyagers noticed the full moon
and forgot that they were going to the
vanity

during the storm
we throw our desires into the sea
as a superfluous burden
and rejoice
while the ship floats to absurdity
more easily

the harbour is a poet
the sea is a poem
and the waves
which are words of the poet
carry the ship
to their conclusion

— translated from the Armenian by Maro Ghukasyan

∞

Ara Jouharian is an Armenian poet and engineer, who has worked in the Caribbean. Maro Ghukasyan is an Armenian literary critic, translator, and PhD student at Matenadaran, the Research Institute of Ancient Manuscripts.