Underground

It's quiet here now,
wetter than ever before,
cracks in the cave let in floods of water hollowing and shutting off the 'scape.

I hear the walls
singing ancient tales of drier years
where masses of us crawled down in the dark,
before electricity and tourism moved in.

It's evolved, in many positive ways, you know
but time has changed it,
original bones destroyed.
I can't leave.

There is an odd peace, a cool, consistent temperature,
anonymity of the deep, secrets
I found in the years of furious and frequent storms.

It's easy to lose yourself in tunnels -
yet many lifers are keen to give directions to the open-eared
languidly resting in this familiar covering
that feels akin to own flesh.

You are welcome
to become aware of the flow and change,
to steady yourself in this peaceful dark,
to lose yourself and find it again.

We can only be
our most honest selves in our deep world,
it's what keeps it sacred,
it's what keeps it pure.