crystal cave in Springfield Missouri
full of underground rooms and a jail
ghost room where spirits whisper and scurry
enormous concert hall, hearty and hale
Rainbow Falls and witches bathtub too
domed ceiling chimes room which can sing
helicite room with walls shadowing blue
excited tourists many busses bring
In caverns deep, where shadows play,
An Earth Dragon sleeps, away from day.
No wings it boasts, to soar and glide,
But six strong legs, where power does reside.
Its scales, a shimmer, dark and grand,
Like oil spilled on frosted land.
A mystic sheen of blues and gold,
A story of ancient earth, untold.
From hollowed rock, it views the sky,
Where stars ignite, as ages fly.
A gentle giant, strong and wise,
With slumbering, ancient, heavy eyes.
Oh, to see this creature, grand and vast,
A living jewel, built to last.
A whispered wish, a dream I hold,
An Earth Dragon, brave and bold.
I am an elder and I am a dragon.
Therefore I am an elder dragon.
You may bow, kneel or plead before me.
And I will respect you if you will respect me.
I fell to this planet from the far further space.
And have been witness to all-time in this space.
Unfortunately I have not written any books.
But my words carry more weight than books.
Ask me a SIMPLE question.
And I will get you many answers to your question.
Humans will still reason and request a simple answer.
Answers from bottom left, to top, to bottom right.to left, to right are all answers.
You will then ask what is wisdom.
Combining lessons of past, experiences of current and imaginations of future is wisdom.
You feel off kilter when visiting me.
But I am in my element when shrouded by my winged me.
You should not let your child play with fire.
Yet your child asks me where is my fire.
Come inside my cave to view the stag leg might.
But you might end up feeling my might.
If you are content, step back into the light.
But I will not join you as I am afraid of the light.
On a racing abseil down a scarred, breathless face,
I surprise stalled, smelling the waxy comb
before hearing the anthem-buzz of stinging sirens.
To a zipping stop, there deep,
back in the dark out-of-sight
lay flashlight hidden, shadowed away,
a secluded cave of stone sweetness.
From out the needle-sharp, eye-biting karoo light,
the bees rocket dive like shining embers bright,
fire-honed, humming into their honey cave home,
swallowed into the dense sweetness.
As Life extrudes with centrifugal spin,
each to fingernail climb her
chosen rockface of cold hardness,
or
to flurry, fret and fly a million flights
from high forest or low scrubland,
all seeking the warm softness
of our own honey cave,
safe on an untroubled cliff.
You ask me why I live in cave
Caveman not want to be a slave
I take a chance and look around
I see that people act like clown
Your little ones you not take care
You always running here and there
You drop them off at crazy school
No discipline when they break rule
They spend their time in front of screen
You wonder why they act so mean
They don’t know sex or what is real
By age of ten know how to kill
Government tells you what to do
You give up trying to be you
Purpose of life, make more money
Hate is growing it not funny
I choose a life here in my cave
Not make a choice to be a slave
I took the chance to look around
No way I’d choose to live in town
Don’t raise the white flag
when sly boots ennui sneaks in
stoic mould is key
life is that intriguing quest
a conjugated footpath
the meat cave
...be...
the tribal den
...of...
their unspoken
...oars...
len
I watched as silence danced with shadows,
Playing the melody sung by my mind.
Its blanket covered the darkness—
broken only by a ray of light through a crack in the cave wall.
I groped through the dark toward the stone,
but the gale was too thick for my arms to swim.
I imagined a ghost whispering—
yet only silence listened.
Echoes, like thunder in a deep ocean,
ricocheted fear like a trap set to spring.
Ghosts rushed out from the corners they lurked—
only for me to hear silence whisper: “Come out of there.”
Its voice flowed like a river of serenity through a forest.
I begged silence to stop its torment,
but it had ears that could not hear.
I tried to run, but a boulder blocked my path.
Then I screamed.
It was then I knew—
the light coming through the crack was my father’s flashlight.
The unknown cave within,
Built by don't know what
From it emerge tendencies,
Seemingly out of control
Made up mostly by influences,
And the sensitivity of brain.
Fear is one of them
Such a slavery it is,
What am I to do?
How do I break free?
Either repeat the blows,
But there is no end!
A single path nobody shows,
And I am left to comprehend.
-17-02-2025
In silence, we watch shadows pass
they shape our thoughts and feed the farce
Moulding lives to fit the lies
that see us strive, conform and die
And scared of what we do not know
we do not move or seek to go
But idle in their well known forms
find safety in such practised norms
There is no need to speculate
the shadows teach us fear and hate
Breed small world views and selfish thoughts
dispense with troubling shoulds and oughts
It matters not what's right or wrong
so long as we all nod along
While voices preach invented truths
to justify each new abuse
As newborn Gods, those few rich men
close liberty's gate and lock the pen
Embrace what once seemed quite absurd
they are the path, we are the herd
In barless cages, through blinkered eyes
accepting corporate sponsored rise
The missing light upon that wall
...an absence which now stains us all
(Image credit: Sara Fang)
Let not fears nonplus
God within calls us
Let’s board His bliss bus
An invitation
For meditation
Leave open heart’s door
Know God keeps no score
Love’s our only cure
Our burning yearning
Nodes within churning
Benign bliss burning
With no goals to chase
We slow down life’s pace
To behold God’s face
Soul’s affirmation
At heart’s play station
Could you please repeat the question? I ask the recruiter.
Would you rather live in a submarine or a cave?
Can I say neither?
He shakes his head no.
He is a Marine; they have rules.
Panic attack starts
Tiny heart in my throat is jumping
I could live under the stars
Or on the deck of a ship or under a tree
I choose neither, I tell him.
He glares at me and sends me away.
Without picking up my application.
It is okay. I might be too old for the Marines anyway.
I am seventy-two
Energized by the rustic cave
it's cold moist nature calling
echoes gurgling from within its depth
dark algae clinging to its walls
the water slowly trinkling into pools
shimmering like gold specks
a delight for any adventurist
diving into its depth
This cave is just me.
I hear drips as I breathe.
I live in a cave.
Not even ghosts are this brave.
I have firewood.
I would roast marshmallows, if I could.
I used to live with people.
But smiles made me dull.
I used to go to school.
That place was much more cruel.
Than a cave which is just,
A nice place to rest.
I try to laugh, but I howl.
Where there’s no blankets or towels.
This is a place to learn to be brave.
But I’m starting to enjoy counting the cracks in this cave.
I stood in front of
the cave of Temptation
and accepted the invitation
It was not
love at first sight
but curiousity in the dead of night
All I remember
is that I was eager to surrender
and I must admit
that it only took half a second to submit
That once-only fling
has made me commit to one thing:
I will take the location of that cave
to the grave.
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