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Poem: “An Ocean without Sails”

by on May 27, 2012 in Poetry
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An Ocean without Sails

Say the nomads, who should know
Make no plans today, sometimes
No one knows the way to go
And in the guts there are no signs

A long and distant line of sight
No more than steppe as flat as pain,
Cloud by day or flame by night
Will not appear, return again

Yet the foolish stop, get down
And with their knives they disembowel
Ponies kicking on the ground
To search the omens of their travel

Do not kill the beasts you ride,
Bewildering, there are no trails,
The grass is taller than your eyes
Beneath an ocean without sails

Pavel
June 21, 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."