The Time Of Silence
by Shant Norashkharian
It is the time of silence
When the birds are bored with their songs
And the wind wastes its fury on sweeping dirt
And the gray man starts counting his little pains
And weeps like an abused child in a closet
Because his tyrants live within him
And the maids become angry when he is weak
And he spills his dignity all over the floor
It is the time of silence
When he thinks of the machetes of unknown hands
Which cut thin strings which connect all of us
And were built with many little efforts for centuries
To confirm our humanity before our maker
And he weeps again when there is no one to hear him
And in the solitude to which he condemned himself
He listens to the music from the wisdom of the dead
It is the time of silence
When the whiskey laughs at its promises
As the rudeness of the morning glares
From the empty platters of other tables and beds
And he remembers the purity that Sundays had
How he found a warm hand each time he reached farther
And blesses the breeze which never withheld healing
Even from those who sold sacred things for gold rings
It is the time of silence
When silence is in disgrace!
Crescent City, California August, 2004
It Is The Time To Name Them!
By Shant Norashkharian
It Is The Time To Name Them!
So gather your Phd idiots who made your smart missiles
To hunt for Arabs shopping in the bazaars of the East
With the mercenaries who drowned them in torture chambers
After they painted them with the lipsticks of whores
And with the pilots who wounded the planet with megabombs
And ravaged orchards blessed with flowers and fruits
Let them explain their deeds to the mothers they wronged
For mothers never leave until justice is done!
O Lord it was not just our Dignity they took from us!
It Is The Time To Name Them!
For they kicked around their desert brothers like toys
And whitened their nights with blinding phosphorus
And trained the weakest to prey on the weakest
And wiped away their homes with digital machines
And deceived them with friendly faces and handfuls of candy
And they took away their sacred things and sold them to bidders
And peddled with their kindness like a commodity
And raped five thousand years of kingdoms and museums!
O Lord it was not just our History they took from us!
It Is The Time To Name Them!
All the fathers who traded our freedom with dogmas
And abused their podiums to mislead us with myths
When we had no judgment to distinguish right or wrong
And delivered us to media moguls who sneaked into our heads
There was a time when Sundays were pure
Without sermons and interviews with boasting generals
A time before our fathers became our predators
And frowned when we asked too many questions!
O Lord it was not just our Freedom they took from us!
It Is The Time To Name Them!
From generation to generation they repeated their deeds
And built empires on the bones of helpless nations
Because their gods taught them they were the only true gods
And those who followed other gods were fit for fire
So they banished the seekers of truth to the wilderness
And they bowed to clocks and spat on the seasons
And they cut the strings that were sewn to join all of us
With the patient needles of men of peace for centuries!
O Lord it was not just our Peace which they took from us!
It Is The Time To Name Them!
Those who live together yet with distant souls
And measure their piety with the size of their cathedrals
And make cow pastures from the burial grounds
Where they hide the tribes of Indians who welcomed them
Those who keep cameras away from orphans digging the rubble
And bring down caring leaders for appointed dictators
Which planet will be left for us when you are done
Shame on you White Man when will you be done?
O Lord it was not just our Whiteness they took from us!
It Is The Time To Name Them!
Crescent City, California
August, 2004-January, 2005
