Lorne Shirinian: Gélinas

Lorne Shirinian's Gélinas read by Paula Fedeski-Koundakjian.

L’Hôpital du Haut Richelieu
St-Jean, Québec
10:32 am

the waiting room is full
waiting
in the waiting room
full of waiting
waiting

surrounded
some fat
some ruddy-faced
blue-veined and
hacking
some light up yet another
to draw the thick blue smoke
deep into the dead alveoli
of their lizard lungs
they are waiting

I am waiting

then at 10:32
the electric crackle static
through the thin speaker
announces a new list
of hopeful names

Grégoire, Tremblay, Lefebvre,
Baillargeon (long fretful pause)
Lrn Sh-Sha-Sha-rn-nan
Allez a la sale numero 1

At room 1 another roll call
Grégoire, Tremblay, Lefebvre,
Baillargeon (long fretful pause)
Mon Dieu, chui pas chanceuse ce matin

Instinctively I rise
What is it, Miss

The nurse steps back embarrassed
But not enough
Pourtant c’est bien facile I say
Vous le prononcez comme vous le lisez
Shirinian Voyez-vous

And when you say it
And when my name fills your mouth
Think of massacred Armenia
Then think of the Turkish peasants
Whom you adopted
Think of Montreal’s Armenian cabbies
In front of Café Van Houtte on McGill College
Think of crafty business men you couldn’t trust
Think of terrorists
Think of the strange food you don’t like
Think of the earthquake packaged for you
In the Canada Français
Think this land is my land
This land’s not your land

Tell yourself this Armenian’s
Only renting space
And, Miss, if it’s still too much for you
To say Shirinian
Just call me Gélinas


From the volume, Earthquake: Poems by Lorne Shirinian
Mellen Poetry Series, Volume 16, The Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston, NY 1991. Printed here by kind permission of the author.