by Pavel Chichikov
No no – he's three
Won't go here, won't go there
Eat, sleep – fatigued is he
And bolted to the ground
He cries, he stamps
His feet, but never lies
That comes later and the stare
Of disbelief –
Or fury if he dares
And then the whole world underneath
His stamping feet –
Though if a sheep he bleats
But what sheep has a knife
Concealed beneath the wool?
What sheep is cruel?
Insatiable and then
The no no no –
Always crony, never friend
As if two separate species lived
On Earth
And one deprived
No no no – it can't go on –
One horn
For every sheep and every capricorn
The banal suffering of the meek
Diverging from
The banal opulence of the sleek
Sheep, sheep, all sheep
As once
In Nazareth I saw the shepherd's crook
Around the foreleg of a ewe –
He hauled and she resisted –
It was that one they slew
Click here to follow Pavel's ongoing epic poem “The Shoulder of the Sun.” You may also visit Pavel's website at Grey Owl Press.
