Hovhannes Tumanyan: Maro

by: Hovhannes Tumanyan translated: Monica Toumani

My village is the one spreading proud,

Over those hills, hidden behind thick clouds

Serene it stands, near the deep canyon

Sorrow is always its main companion.

We are believers, devout to our faith

We say our prayers, never to church late,

We follow the book, we don’t break lent

But our lives are always full of torment.

Let me tell you this one sad tale

That breaks my heart endlessly, without fail.

I can’t forget, can’t comprehend

Why this happened to my dear young friend!

On the outskirts of own town

There’s a large oak, bending down

It shelters folks from the sun

Close by, you can hear the brook run.

Hot summer days were the time

Us kids would go swim and have fun,

We would laugh and joke, when done

Ended up resting on Great Rock, the one!

This is the grave of poor little Maro

This rock has witnessed so much sorrow,

She was my playmate, lively and good

We were kids of the same neighborhood.

Maro, my pal, my dear friend

You were condemned to the end,

I still hear your laughter, so bubbly

I remember our games, so fondly.

Maro was smart, favored by all

She had just turned nine, I recall,

Two women came to their door

They had never been there before.

When Maro’s mom brought out some food

“It’s something else that’ll brighten our mood,

May your pantry always be full,

May your luck always upwards pull.”

“We are here to ask you for a hand

Give us your daughter, let us band.”

Then Maro’s dad lifted his glass

Said “if that’s what the Good Lord will amass.”

Shepherd Karo was a giant man

Maro’s mother liked him, and his clan

Maro was also was quite fond of the guy

I like the taffy and apples he brings by.

Soon, Maro was dressed and veiled

The in-laws came with duduk and hailed,

The priest came and did a mass

He blessed Karo always to surpass.

Maro was standing there, all flushed

She was baffled, just standing hushed

Her father toasted Karo and said

May your table be always full with bread

Hence, the nine year old Maro

Was wed to tall shepherd Karo

As to what happened next

Was she jinxed, by someone vexed?

No one really understood why

But Maro, right away, hated the guy!

She ran away, came home to Dad

I do not like to be married it’s bad,

I don’t want to live with Karo

I promise not to give Mom any sorrow.

Her father was angry, all red in face

He slapped her and said “go back to your place

Don’t bring shame to our household

You are a wife now,” that is what he told!

“Out of this house, go out right now,

Not to look back, I want you to vow,

You must go live with your spouse

Wherever Karo is, that is your house.”

Young Maro was completely dazed

She could not understand what was phrased.

She left the house she had called home

Began her life, outside to roam…

Discarded by father, scared of the giant

She became a wanderer, the town’s defiant.

She would walk the meadows for days on

At times would huddle in a corner of town.

Weeks passed, she was seen once in a while

She seemed broken, gone was her smile.

No one knew what she ever ate

At times, someone would give her a plate.

One morning all heard the call of the town

"A red dressed child fell in the canyon down"

All ran to see what could be done

Maro lay dead in the ravine, her breath gone.

Her father wailing, tears pouring down,

Her mother pulling her hair, caressing Maro’s gown.

Karo cried too, the whole town wept

This misfortune was too deep to accept.

As a sinner, as custom had always been

She could not be buried next to her kin.

The church is very clear you see

The cemetery is only for the pure, all agree.

They dug a grave under the big oak tree

And covered the grave with a black rock as decree.

Time and again, I have seen

Maro’s grieving mother, looking so lean.

Dressed all in black, weeping on the grave

Demanding from God, “why is it me you saved?”

Grief-stricken with her unjust destiny

Calling out to her child in deep agony

Where did you go, Maro jan?

Can you hear me, Maro jan?

Who beat you up, Maro jan?

Who cursed you thus, Maro jan?

Are you asleep, Maro jan?

Come back, come home, Maro jan!