Just how long injustice continues
A holy Pontian knows
As to how the hollow earth underfoot still stands
Ask a kindly Armenian
Ask them all
Even the Assyrian
whose uprooting is still love
silently and philosophically
awaiting reconciliation....

just how long injustice
prevails
a Pontian knows
yet everywhere there is silence
we did not even see it in our dream
or take pleasure in a single word
only memory stands
only memory is granted an audience
today
not a centimetre was lost from our land
nor has the Pontian ceased his search for justice
I swear this to you by the light of
My own eyes
We still wait for everything
We Must!
Everything!

A beautiful poem written by Dr Erma Vassiliou and presented to an audience at a recent joint seminar of Pontians, Assyrians and Armenians in Melbourne (March 2007).