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Poem: “One I Knew…”

by on Mar 17, 2012 in Poetry
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One I Knew…

One I knew
Cursed death
As if it were a figure in a hood
A skeleton and scythe
A visitor, a revenant
A walker in the night

The death you curse is death in you
It wears your face
It breathes the sour breath of rage
And at the banquet of rejoicing
Takes your place,
Spills the wine
Tramples on the bread,
It is the death in you
And in it you become the dead

To cast it out?
Evict what is the root of death in you?
Curse it not
Not even death
Curse nothing that is true
And it will leave
When death has had the time to grieve

Pavel
August 29, 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."