2011 ASA/APP Second Annual Poetry Writing Competition

Winner Teen-ager category, Christine Keshishyan, 14

Ted

You’re my carnival gift,

my companion when I walk

in the park. You are my chocolate

hair and my caramel eyes.

When I’m angry or hurt,

I throw you across the room.

You just take it. I know.

I’m the one without a brain;

I’m the one without a heart.

You know how to love,

how to wrap me in your arms.

You're not embarrassed to hold

my hand, but I throw you under

the bed when my friends come over.

I had countless dreams about you, about us.

But It seems like you're growing

too old for me, or is it

the other way around? I’m not sure.

Mother says, “I should let you go,”

but I can’t imagine you in the wastebasket.

Stop looking at me like that. Say something.

Anything. Please. I can’t let you go.

I can’t. I swear I can’t.

2011 ASA/APP Second Annual Poetry Writing Competition

Winner College Category:

Haik Gazarian

Captured

Cinema paints the past in grayscale,

assuming memory to be in shades of

black and white, a quantifiable blend

of light and dark and the in between,

obscene, really, to look at the bland                         5

of old photographs and associate

remembrance to something as dull,

emotion nullified into the mechanism

of film unwound and soaked, chemicals

used to invoke the appearance of a time,             10

loved ones confined to the binds of an

album likely swimming in dust,

untouched, left to rust the way a photograph

can, once-present moments reduced to

faded thoughts; remember them we must,             15

or else they become but forever lost.

2011 ASA/APP Second Annual Poetry Writing Competition

Honorable Mention: Adult Category

TIME FOR TRUTH

By Taleen Nazarian

Within the place where dark exists,

Is the glow of embers that persists,

The suffering of the past is harder yet,

When you mislead others or “forget,”

Time doesn’t heal the wrong that’s there,

Nor does your apathy clear the air,

You wash your hands of their daily grime,

But no soap will wash away your crime,

Unclench that fist so full of hate,

It is your doing, and not just fate,

Those tears that flow will not subside,

They tell the truth, that you try to hide,

The wails of children like daggers pierce,

Their pleading eyes will never cease,

To ask you in your soundest sleep,

Why pour salt in wounds so deep?

The world calls out for social justice,

But drowns the futile cries of anguish,
And like that river that ran red,

Swallows the innocent, instead,

The desert tosses and turns at night,

It too, cannot forget the sight,

Of blistered skin and blood-stained sands,

Of grandmothers dying with folded hands,

Their prayers are now ours, as is their pain,

The call for justice will never wane,

Our children are the reason why,

The fight for truth will never die.

 

17nov2009

2011 ASA/APP Second Annual Poetry Writing Competition

Winner Adult Category

Mariam Ashchyan Chobanian

Կուզեմ ես վեր նետել

Կուզեմ ես վեր նետել ծաղկի բազում թերթեր,

Արբել նրանց բույրով, հարբել նրանց շաղով:

Կուզեմ ես վեր նետել տխրության արցունքներ,

Ցողել դրանք միայն ուրախության շողերով:

Կուզեմ ես վեր նետել կյանքիս ապրած էջերը,

Ջնջել  հուշերը թախծոտ ու ներշնչվել լավով:

Կուզեմ ես վեր նետել փրկության օղակներ,

Պարուրել մարդկանց հույսով ու հավատով:

Կուզեմ ես վեր նետել, թե վար, բայց անվերադարձ,

Ցավն ու դավը, սեւն ու չարը,

Մի խոսքով` վատը:

Կուզեմ ես վեր նետել ճերմակ աղավնիներ,

Սփռել հորիզոնում ար¨ ու խաղաղություն:

Կուզեմ ես վեր նետել սիրո ջերմ համբույրներ,

Տարածել աշխարհում սեր ու երջանկություն:

Կուզեմ ես վեր նետել ծաղկած գարուններ,

Բերել ամեն տուն մանկան ճիչ ու խնդություն:

Կուզեմ ես վեր նետել բազում աղոթքներ,

Փառաբանել Աստծուն ու ստանալ օրհնություն:

Կուզեմ ես վեր նետել, թե վար, բայց անվերադարձ,

Ցավն ու դավը, սեւն ու չարը,

Մի խոսքով` վատը:

2011 ASA/APP Second Annual Poetry Writing Competition

The ARMENIAN POETRY PROJECT and The ASA are happy to announce the winners of the 2011 competition. 

For the Teen-age category:Christine Keshishyan, 14, who wins for her English poem Ted. 

Christine is a student at the St. Gregory's A. & M. Hovsepian School, in Pasadena, CA

For the College age category:

Haik L. Gazarian, 22, who wins for his English poem Captured. 

Haik attends Babson College and lives in Alpine, NJ

For the 23 years and older category:

Mariam Ashchyan, for her Armenian poem Կուզեմ ես վեր նետել. Mariam lives in Racine, WI.

Honorable mention to Taleen Nazarian for her English poem, Time For Truth. Taleen lives in San Jose, CA

The Principal of St. Gregory's A. & M. Hovsepian School, poet Shahé Mankerian, will receive a Certificate of Appreciation for his dedication to poetry.

Congratulations to all the winners

Second annual APP/ASA poetry writing competition

The Armenian Poetry Project and the Armenian Students Association, Inc. are proud to announce their second annual poetry writing competition. The competition is open to individuals with one or more parents with at least partial Armenian heritage

1. All residents of the U.S. and Canada are invited to submit an Armenian or English poem (Armenian preferred). 

2. All entries are to be sent to ArmenianPoetryProject@gmail.com with the subject heading of ASA/APP Poetry competition. Deadline is set for April 4, 2011

3. A maximum number of 1 submission per poet will be accepted.

4. The three age categories are: student (12-17); college age (18-22) and 23 years and older

5. Prizes in each of the categories are: US$50, $100 and $250.

6. Each poem must to be accompanied by the author’s full name, age, school name, sponsoring teacher’s telephone number, home address and telephone number. For the adult category, you can omit the school information.

Prizes will be announced the week of May 2, 2011.

The Armenian Poetry Project can be accessed at http://armenian-poetry.blogspot.com