Gevorg Endza Babakhanian
"The Mother of God with the Infant", 2023

***

The birth of a sweet child
greets my belated verse.
May he be blessed
by all angels, heavenly and earthly!
May he prove worthy of his father,
as loved and beautiful as his mother;
may his spirit stay calm
and his faith firm, like a heavenly cherub.
May he, in due time,
know nothing of love’s torments or the greedy dreams of fame;
may he look—without blame—
upon the world’s false glitter and hollow noise;
may he not seek reasons
for others’ passions or his own joys,
and may he rise from worldly mire
with soul unstained and heart unharmed.

— Mikhail Lermontov, 1839

SimplyLogo