Hampartzoum’s Poems
Many of these selected poems are excerpts from the letters collection and the memoir. Often times Hampartzoum wrote in a poetic form so that Ottoman Turkish officials who were screening mail would not notice the atrocities he described.
We tried our best to translate the eloquence of Hampartzoum’s words that were written in Armenian, but the elegance of the Armenian word is lost in the English translation.
For Example, the original salutation of the letters were impossible to translate into English so we simply resorted to Dear…
Sara sences that her father would often write poetry when he was stressed emotionally, as a kind of therapeutic use of the traumatic memories.
Examples of Hampartzoum’s poetic writing style
My Eye’s Are Frightened From What They Have Seen
Exodus from Kharpert
The sun the light and the hope
The Grandchildren of Vartan the Great
Original Armenian Language
English Translation
St. Mesrob Mashdots Poem
Original Script
Poem Translated
Rose Hills
(poem in original language with English translation)
Translated Poem
Original language page 1
Original language page 2
The Grandchildren of Vartan The Great Page 1
The Grandchildren of Vartan The Great Page 2
My Black Days
My Black Days – In original language
Poem Hampartzoum wrote for a Baptism
Poetic Commentary Examples
Hampartzoum often wrote poetic commentary on top of newspaper articles that he wanted to address.
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Example 4
Poetry Samples from Hampartzoum’s Letters.
These are selections of poems that were found among Hampartzoum’s early letters thats span from 1915 to 1925.
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My eyes are frightened from what they have seen.
I am not afraid
Unity
She Is Destitute
My Kind and Yearnable Brother
May You Be Carried Away
My Heart is Bleeding
My Soul Brother
Stars In The Sky
Nightly Sleep Is Forbidden To My Eyes
Had These Mountains Not Existed
The Light of My Eye
I resemble a bird
Children of grief
My Turkish Letters from Hell
Orphans Poor and Alone
Don’t slight me with a quick glance.
Black Carpets
I resemble a head full of misfortune.
My Escape Out of Kharpert
Those were the days Ver. 2
Apples
A name to pine for
Don’t be like a hatchet
Poetic Prose
Poetic Prose (The letters were written in poetic form to communicate to relatives outside Turkey what was going on. Since the letters were censored by Turkish government officials, true meaning had to be expressed in a sublime manner.
Heinous Brutal Acts
The Cross Slips
The Principle’s last words at the closing of Hampaertzoum’s school in Perri.
A poem written by Hamayag sent to Hampartzoum in a letter.
What happened cannot be explained.
Turkish School for an Armenian in 1915 in Turkey. Every Armenian child was forced to recite these words morning and afternoon, to be converted.
Intimidation
I am not afraid of hell
With faith I confess
More Poetic Prose
These poetic letters were Hamparzoum’s attempt to communicate to his brothers outside Turkey in an incognito fashion the atrocities that had occurred by the Ottoman Turks.
Hampartzoum communicates with his relatives.
Faith
Generations of Armenians
Once There was a gardner
Bones in the abyss
Before I close my eye’s
One Chance in a million
Dont Slight Me
Kurdish Expressions remembered and often used by Hampartzoum
Long Live The Government
Hampartzoum’s 2 cents’ regarding the Der Zor, the death Desert
An American Offer
The Brothers Complain
Who ever harbors an Armenian will get 5 years under lock and chain.
Experiences in Aleppo
Classmates briefly spared.
School days before the change.
On The Mountain
Best wishes on the occasion of a Baptism.
Written on letter to Tom Bradly May 19, 1977
The Armenian Protestant Church
I have suffered a great deal.
Resonate for the whole world to Hear.
God Is One
The Truth is painful to remember
Presented in original language and translated
Woven Feelings
Rose Hills Memorial Park (Hampartzoum bury’s his son.)
Read With Feeling
Pay with love and kisses
Noble Courageous Young Men
1915: Year of Mourning
Don’t be too Soft
Der Zor
Der-Zor with notes
My Letters from The Black Days
Is it Worth It to Read?
Is it worth reading with notes
I am One of The Survivors
For Their Faith
Sweet Licorice Root
My Mother’s birthplace
Who Who
Hampartzoum reflects on his father in law
Gooze, Gooze (goat, goat)
(One of the last poems Hampartzoum wrote)
Der Zor
Der Zor poem in Armenian with Image
Der Zor variant poem in Armenian with English translation
Hampartzoum reflects on “With Faith I confess”
English Translation
Hampartzoum reflects on “With Faith I confess”
Original writing in Armenian
1915, My Letters from the black days
We are the god given sacred letters
Hampartzoums poems found in letters
Hampartzoum’s poem written in letter
One of Hampartzoum’s last poetic expressions
Revenge & Demand
Revenge & Demand is an example of Hampartzoum merging his poetic writings with collage. This particular example is one of the only times we find him using the word revenge. However demand was a word he used more often as he believed that when something is yours and it is taken away from you, you have the right to demand for its return.
To view more of Hampartzoum’s collages, Click Here
Revenge & Demand
Revenge & Demand – Translated page 1
Revenge & Demand – Translated page 1
Bedros Chitjian’s Poems (Hampartzoum Chitjian’s oldest brother)
Bedros Chitjian was the eldest brother of 6 and snuck out of Turkey in 1913 with a distant relative from Ismael. The burden of travel debt to America weighed heavily on his father for years. The Turkish would inscript Armenians into the Turkish military and force them to build the railroads without food, like slavery and many young Armenian males died that way.
Poem 1
Poem 2
Poem 3
Poem 4
Poem 5
Poem 6
Poem 7
Escaping from Turkey
Sweet Licorice Root
Sweet licorice root,
Potatoes,
Onion layers — a great deal of,
Mushrooms,
Mountain almonds, prickly tree…
Sparrow-green flower — very delicious
“Blorig Yonja”, which grows abundantly near the streams, and very delicious,
“Goullek” green grass,
They used to cook (the above) with cracked wheat Pilaf — it was very delicious.
Wish it were a few years back in time; then my writing too would have been delicious to the reader.
Old age is hell because of merciless and savage people.[1]
[1] Hampartzoum’s childhood memories as a young boy of 7-8, gathering greens and flowers to delight family members as a treat of each season of the year… written 2-3 months before his passing in May of 2003! Visions of his cherished childhood would not stop!
The renewal of the wound inside the heart of a survivor
The (song) singing of the crane
1915
Crane dearest
Crane dearest
It is spring.
Crane dearest
Crane dearest,
Give regards
To my father and mother…
Oh, what days they were… in the hell of 1915. Dream or reality?
Crane dearest
Crane dearest
Where do you come from?
Or where do you go?
Let me write a letter
And give it to you
So you take it to “amanat.”
I have a sample of twin brothers for you.
My late father used to always say…
Not a leaf on a tree can move without the order of God.
If so, what was our sin that led to…?
Did God order the murderous Turk?
They gave us Red Massacres
Red country
Mourning and lamentations.
And the vulgar bastards of America
Gave us white massacres
Or black coal massacres?
Both are the same.
Unbearable is the scorching fire of God.
A song from 1919 — Hmayag, my Uncle’s son, in the orphanage:
Generation of Armenians, Sons of grief,
We have wounds incurable.
Exile, torments, beatings and slaps,
They filled our lives with plentiful of pain,
We became orphans, miserable, with no one to give us a hand.
We wander from door to door.
Be good, friends,
And save us from the sad grief.
Our eyes have been terrified by what they saw,
Our ears from what they heard.
We are not afraid of hell.
Our lives have already been through hell.
The Turks used to say: “It Yourar, Kerven Gecher,” (which means):
The Turks used to say: “It Yourar, Kerven Gecher,” (which means):
“Armenians bark like dogs, but our caravan moves on.”
Armenians — you cannot achieve anything by just screaming words,
The proverb states:
“Don’t be too soft, they’ll crush you;
Don’t be too hard, they’ll hang you.”
This April 24, let us not make big noise with words alone, or with the empty sermons of the clergy, but instead, use your heads, and do something in the newspapers, on T.V., or through government officials, so that we old ones, feel some happiness before we close our eyes forever.
There are many who would help financially if an Armenian such as Kissinger or Doctor Luther King steps forward.
Let the Armenians awaken.
Oh, how I wish I was lucky enough to see that day and then die.
Use the Survivors. You are already too late…
A man who considers himself unlucky.
Hampartzoum’s version of I Confess – 24 Verses (Doon)
Hampartzoum and his family repeated the original version of this prayer every night before dinner. Each family member would take turns standing and reciting each verse.
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Below are Hampartzoum’s original handwritten interpretation of ” 24 Doon”
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Hampartzoum’s Last Words
Hampartzoum never stopped, until his end, he expressed himself in poetic terms. In his final years his handwriting deteriorated. Only Seta, his writings translator, was capable of deciphering the legibility of his handwritten words.
