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Poem: “Incantations would not Work”

by on Oct 14, 2011 in Poetry
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Incantations would not Work

You are a ripple in a cup
And call that little wave: Myself,
But ocean runs and ocean rolls
Immense and savage, ill-consoled,
It comes from nowhere you can see
Fingers skyward breaking free

Do not betray the sea or else
It will revenge its moving self,
How many rippled cups of tea
Would fill an ocean of the sea?
Incantations would not work,
World’s abyss where visions lurk,
Reservoirs their waters keep
But owe allegiance to the deep

Look, you are a ripple stirred
Within a cup, a single word,
Ocean roars Homeric verse
That you may glorify or curse
But it will break against the shore
And shout until forever more

Ripple small and ripple weak
What can you be but short and meek?
There exists a power so
That makes a ripple keep and grow,
Small but long and ever more
That never breaks against a shore

Pavel
April 25, 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."