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Krikor Der Hohannesian lives in Medford, MA. His poems have appeared in over 150 literary journals including The Evansville Review, The South Carolina Review, Atlanta Review, Louisiana Literature, Connecticut Review and Natural Bridge. He is a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee and the author of two chapbooks, Ghosts and Whispers (Finishing Line Press, 2010) and Refuge in the Shadows (Cervena Barva Press, 2013). Ghosts and Whispers was a finalist for the Mass Book awards poetry category in 2011.

WAKE

Krikor Der Hohannesian

Ifeanyi Mankiti, in memorium

How absolute, permanent

the stillness of death…

I stood beside your casket

willing to stay as long as it took

to see your chest rise and fall again,

wishing your eyes to open,

your lips to part in speech,

signature smile at the corners,

waiting to see your hand reach out

as if to reassure us all.

I wanted to break with decorum,

extend my hand to touch you

as you touched so many,

solemnity be damned!

— Krikor Der Hohannesian

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