by Pavel Chichikov
Homage to Francisco Goya y Lucientes
Let me not flinch or weep, the rope and ladder
Lead away to death, the seconds gather
Into one clenched knot, one beat, one pulse,
Into a fright that makes my heart convulse,
Though always in the past it was another
Who saw the scaffold rise, the light diminish
And every faithless consolation vanish
Now the friar holds the crucifix
Before my face as if he could annex
Another’s bitter suffering to mine,
Christ’s bitter double-crossing and my own –
But now I see my wall of hours crack,
The sun spring upward like a flashing sword –
Where is my sanctuary – Christ my Lord?
Pavel's Websites are at The Poetry of Pavel Chichikov and Catholic Images by Pavel Chichikov
