At the crossroads,

a decision is made

to kill a pawnbroker

and her possessions, raid.


But by chance

the axe struck not one

but two, Raskolnikov cries

"What have I done?"


Woe befalls him

the man who committed crime

and now he runs from punishment,

the threat of jail-time.


An extraordinary man

he claims to be

but his theory will prove

to be his folly.


For in this game

of mental chess

he cannot hope

to beat Russia's best.


Like a butterfly

to a yellow flame,

Raskolnikov flew,

driving himself mad with shame.


Into the fire

he flew

and with Sonia's help,

he was born anew.