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Poem: “Leave it Behind”

by on Jan 07, 2012 in Poetry
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Leave it Behind

I saw the cells of purgatory
When I was a child,
The menaces of royalty
In stiff brocaded gold

Stiff with unforgiving pain
They moved out from their cells
Where prisoners of hate remain
Inside their narrow hells

Underground along an aisle
They reached out for a touch,
A neediness which might defile,
Defilement in their clutch

Not till now to think that they
Had reached for artlessness,
Not on innocence to prey
But to be ill the less

Massive were the robes of them
Well stiffened with brocade,
Resentment sewn to every seam,
A nightmare they had made

But I passed on along the way
Between the kings and queens
Of unforgiving savagery
To tell what I had seen

Pavel
October 5, 2011


Pavel Chichikov is a Washington DC-based poet and photographer. He has written for both the secular and the Catholic press on issues as diverse as Russian nuclear weapons systems, Olympic athletes, and miracles. His books include From Here to Babylon: Poems by Pavel Chichikov,  Lion Sun: Poems by Pavel Chichikov, Mysteries and Stations in the Manner of Ignatius, and Animal Kingdom. Pavel may be heard reading his works on catholicradiointernational.com and on pavelreads.com. His poetry regularly appears on "The Poetry of Pavel Chichikov."