I Can See Them Poem by Avetik Isahakyan

In the quiet dusk I see it.
The thin smoke rising from my father's house.
Outside the willows sway. And in dark corners
invisible crickets start their song.

I can see my mother in that lamplight.
Her grandchild climbs into her lap to sleep.
And as she rocks my baby
I know that silently she prays:

First for God's hand to touch every hurt,
every sickbed, every traveler far from home.
And then for him to guide
her son, her wandering boy.

Sweet smoke rises from my father's house.
My mother prays, my child sleeping in her arms.
The cricket in invisible corners
sings to the cool willows as they sway.

(1911)