Sample Poems
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Nostalgia For The Future
Like each of us, Djanikian keeps re-realizing that to be alive is deeply dangerous. “Sometimes the earth’s a desert of promise, / the world-soul damaged, dream-cities ruined.” The world is cosmically scary, so we need at least “a surprise / to make you think / it’s not all ruthless / even as the shots ring out / in the heart of the city.” Beyond that, we have to believe in some ongoing meaning in our lives — so each day we suspect “Whatever has a surface has a deeper meaning.” We keep looking for ways to accept life; when Djanikian finds a way, his acceptance is more grateful than skeptical. “Never pass up a good time, history tells me, / and I’m breathing in that crazy oxygen.” His generously readable poems help us feel that life is livable, full of ache but also of possibility.
–Mark Halliday
Often, Djanikian’s poems have explored the immigrant experience and what it means to live between countries. But even when he roots his poems in a specific time and place, such as in Alexandria, 1953, the writing is filled with a sense of transience and possibility. You could think, the poem begins. You could feel…You could smell… You could season…You could drown.
Everything is conditional. Everything could change at any moment.
Because more often than not, Djanikian isn’t just describing a place. Instead, he is capturing the confusion of places. And with that, how displacement can lead us to a heightened sense of wonder and enchantment.
–Ben Berman, Solstice Literary Magazine