No Bird Can Reach the Mountain's Crest

Armenian Legends and Poems [1916] at sacred-texts.com

p. 106

NO BIRD CAN REACH THE MOUNTAIN'S CREST

BY HOVHANNES COSTANIANTZ

No bird can reach the mountain's crest.
There blow the winds that never rest;
And ’midst the stars that crown the height,
Saint Gregory's fair lamp shines bright. ¹
     Ah, gentle brother, sweet and brave,
     That Light thy sword and spirit save!

How many rills the mountain yields!
Those rills are streams, that dew the fields.
My brother sweet, those rushing streams
Are like my longings and my dreams.
     Happy the maid that loveth thee!
     When shall thy heart's desire be?

See, in the South a tempest breaks--
A tempest howls, the leaflet quakes;
The bluebell hangs its petals bright,
The cock cries out with all his might.
     Like showers of gold comes down the rain
     Why comes my love not home again?

p. 107

The Star of Light begins his course,
The brave one mounts upon his horse.
He drives his spurs into its flanks,
And rides away to join the ranks.
    Happy the maid that loveth thee,
    When shall thy heart's desire be?

There comes no news from far away,
Our brave ones rest not from the fray.
’Tis long that sleep my eyes doth flee--
Our foemen press unceasingly.
    ’Tis long for sleep I vainly pray:
    There comes no news from far away.

Footnotes

106:1 Above the summit of Aragatz, the mountain that faces Ararat on the far side of the plain, a weird light is sometimes visible, traditionally called the Lamp of Saint Gregory the Illuminator.