Inside the Temple


by Pavel Chichikov

The crucifixion's not a painting

The deposition from the Cross is not a carving

The whipping and the crowning are not framed plaques –

Close as your one-eyed face – the nail in your foot

Obstinate pain – how stubborn He must be

To feel the pangs of His created souls,

He suffers what His law submits us to,

Puts His own hand inside the vice He made

Inside the building He created

Stands silver being with a tyrant's face –

Suave and glossy with reflected light

It shows the silver features of its human acolytes

This temple with its dry stream inside,

The heart of us which must contract before it flows,

Will break – the veil of holies rip and tear in two,

The seam of earth's two-fold door divide

Visit Pavel's website at Grey Owl Press.

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