կերասի շրթունքներ 
վարդագույնի այտեր
նուշի աչքեր
աշխարհի ամենավաղ պարարտ
այգի ես դուն: 

cherry lips
rosy cheeks
almond eyes:
you are the earth’s
most fertile garden.

garden of earthly delights // a.s.m

oh, the way they lie
through glass lenses
for dollar signs 
it isn’t true love
unless you apologize 


show me something real
where the love hurts like i do
i don’t want fake tears


i want passion that burns 
lovers to the ground
and dwindles down 


and they emerge like phoenixes
from the dust.

the movies lie // a.s.m 

am i going to be like
my favorite song in tenth grade:
the one i memorized all the words to
& listened to 347 times
which subsequently lost all its meaning?


or the quotes & photos i hang up
on my bedroom wall with the
intent to inspire:
the ones that i wake up to everyday
& seize to notice anymore?


will you see my face & hear my laugh
& look into my eyes one
too many times: will i
begin to become
ordinary, too?

out of the ordinary // a.s.m

sometimes my heart takes me
to the walled courtyards of the Old City
to the streets where my նենե (grandmother)
laughed and played
and carved her initials into stone

sometimes it calls me to
sandstone cities
and undulating deserts
where my ancestors fled and
where the mosque’s 
haunting prayers stir
my sleeping soul

sometimes i hear
the melancholy songs of
my mother tongue
and i long to stand on the հող (dirt)
half of my being was formed from,
to dig my toes into my
roots

sometimes i’m drawn towards
places i do not know, but
that i hear calling me

but louder than the voices
echoing in ancient monasteries
and stronger than the force of
my meandering spirit
is the pull to you 

you are where I ache to go back to

you are my home // a.s.m

time has eroded you
from my mind 

(like waves erode a sandy shore)
depositing

you into the delft 
waters of the subconscious 
where you sink

deeper every time
i fall in love with him
a little more.

i’m finally forgetting you // a.s.m