​Icon of the Pantokrator with Silver Revetment, by Christopher Carstens

​Icon of the Pantokrator with Silver Revetment, artist and date not known (Poland)

​Icon of the Pantokrator with Silver Revetment
 
Sometimes it’s just a silver-plated snapshot on my wall,
A decorated memory, his visit by the lake.
Sometimes a frosty window and I’m outside, after all,
Just peering in at heaven, ‘cause a peek’s all I can take.
Sometimes I feel him in there, and he’s looking out at me,
And then I sense his judgement as I stumble through my day.
Sometimes I hear his gentle call, come after him and see
The dusty path he’s walking, humbly follow on his way.
 
Some precious times I find I’m not alone here at my prayers,
His risen gaze dissolves the very limits of my sight,
And I’m amid the mingled crowd, those climbing on the stairs,
To join him in the upper room, within the silvered light.
We all sing in the circle, Lord, may it be ever thus,
Beholding we become. Beheld, the real icon is us.

Christopher Carstens

Author's note: 'This is an Icon that I own – it hangs on my study wall. My wife purchased it in Poland in the weeks before the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is unsigned. The Gospel in Christ’s hand is open to John 13:34, and reads, in Old Church Slavonic, “A new commandment I give to you: may you all love one another as [I have] loved..."'

Christopher Carstens is a retired clinical psychologist living in Dallas. A husband, father, grandfather and volunteer catechist, he is currently enrolled in the MFA at University of St. Thomas in Houston.