We Survive

Waking up in a room,

With not even a pair of shoes.

They stripped me down,

Took me from my town,

And here I awaited my doom.

This dream that haunted me often

Made me grateful I was a free women.

But while I was asleep,

All I could do was weep,

For this prejudice I did not deserve.

My ancestors preceding me

Faced cruelties like these before thee.

They were robbed and made nameless,

By those who are shameless,

And forced to walk through the wasteland.

With strength and hope and endurance,

My Armenian relatives fought through the cruelness.

Endless treks through the desert,

And exterminations of brethren, 

Wore down on my forefathers' souls.

Although liberation was finally accomplished,

And the annihilation was completely abolished,

The memories don't leave,

I continually grieve,

Over the horrors that were once inflicted.

"But we are stronger," I think every day,

"We can overcome" I hopefully say.

We remember forever,

Forgetting is an option never, 

And we grow to prove we are brave.

Prevention of devastation is next,

Which motivates me in my quest.

In my future studies in school

I have but only one rule:

To study resistance to genocide.

My goal for finishing twelfth grade,

Is to bring something our school needs to change.

I have been assigned a task,

By history teachers in class,

To bring the Armenian Genocide to our students to learn.

This job is changing my life.

I work tirelessly with my peers, and strive,

To incorporate this subject

Into our required classroom standards,

For it is unnoticed and underappreciated.

I have been inspired by professors at school,

And have discovered what I want to do.

All I promise myself,

Is to put on my shelf,

A degree in genocide studies.

My ancestors long before me

Had no idea their courage would be inspiring.

They now shape my future,

For I know what my goal is,

I will bring awareness and rememberence to my history.