by Pavel Chichikov
Stay with your work
Build a wall of glass
A wall that you can see through
Touch through, smell through
Know through
Yet a wall indeed
Break it down
Or let the wall break down
And pity will destroy you
The old men at the nursing home
Forget their own names –
Beware of them
The one who clutches at his radio
Under crimson maples –
Keep him at the far side
The scrape-skulled little girl
Who sees the nurse as death –
Beware of her
Keep up the wall
Build with masonry of glass,
Ashlar blocks of crystal
Senses of the flesh remain
Permissible
But moistures of the soul are poisonous
What can we be doing here
With souls and minds
When only surfaces are needed?
Build up the wall –
Build up the wall to keep the void at bay
The gulping hound oblivion
But then I see another through the wall
The one I love
And say her name
She is my soul
And she is my own beloved
Who says my name
My soul cries out to me
And my beloved
Is in her company
What happens next?
What happens next?
What happens next?
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.
