Avedik Issahakian
20th-Century Armenian Literature
A MOTHER'S HEART
By AVETIK ISAHAKIAN
Translated by Ara Baliozian
There is an old tale
About a boy
An only son
Who fell in love with a lass.
`You don't love me,
You never did,' said she to him.
`But if you do, go then
And fetch me your mother's heart.'
Downcast and distraught
The boy walked off
And after shedding copious tears
Came back to his love.
The girl was angry
When she saw him thus
And said, `Don't you dare come back again
Without your mother's heart.'
The boy went and killed
A mountain roe deer
And offered its heart
To the one he adored.
But again she was angry
And said, `Get out of my sight.
I told you what I want
Is your mother's heart.'
The boy went and killed
His mother, and as he ran
With her heart in his hand
He slipped and fell.
`My dear child,
My poor child,'
Cried the mother's heart,
`Did you hurt yourself?'
--
Ara Baliozian was born in Athens, Greece and received his education
in Venice, Italy. He lives in Ontario, Canada and writes in
Armenian and English and has published over 20 books of his
works. He has translated works from Armenian writers, such as
Grigor Zohrab, Zabel Yessayan, and Kostan Zarian into English.
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