Poem: “Who Would Dare Smile?”

by Pavel Chichikov on May 27, 2011 in Poetry

Who Would Dare Smile?

Don’t read this if your heart is soft,
Your heart is not of granite stone
I speak of Patrick, less than two
Whose parents beat and broke his bones

 When officers arrived too late
To save his little life, febrile,
With broken back and broken ribs
Sweet Patrick tried to smile

One who heard the news of it
Said: Man is evil, dogs are best,
Give me some dogs to keep and love,
The filth of Man is manifest

Who can argue, I may not,
They crucified a tender child,
As Man flogged God and hung him up
On wooden beams, the infant smiled

A love as potent as the Cross
That comes to us by Jesus’ grace –
Who would behold the crimes of us
And dare smile in His face?

Pavel
May 19, 2011