Out of Place
by Alina Gharabegian
My West, when I inhabited the East,
Shuddered in fear at the muazzin’s call—
A Christian child, happy but frightened,
Living under the turquoise domes
Of Osman’s crescent-and-star.
Now, in this land of pinched Puritans,
Nothing calls to my Eastern soul.
White Protestant church walls
Return an echo—barren and blank.
I long to be frightened by the old prayerful call.
From which half do I garner advice
When I think to use the henna, smelling of spices,
Washing warm and gritty through my hair,
To color Easter eggs in springtime?
Alina Gharabegian is an American Armenian raised in Los Angeles, living in New York City. Trained as a Victorianist, she is an associate professor of English, teaching in New Jersey. Her passions include poetry and the tango.
