Leo Hamalian: Two poems on the same theme, but each in a different mood

(1)
Oh, I have seen the oak tree
Beaten by the storm,
Uprooted by the fury,
Lose its mighty form.

I have seen the fortress
Fall to the siege of sand,
I have seen the brute sun
Burn out the works of hand.

Oh, weak is the hand,
And weak is the tree:
But the force behind them
Shall tomorrow be.

(2)
By three shapes knocked to numb,
In the bowl of the blasted land,
A stream threads through the sand,
Across the kingdom come.

Towards that silent stream
Two thirsting creatures crawl,
With no pride left to fall,
With nothing left to dream.

Ararat 3: II, back cover, Summer 1962