The Cave

After tottering momentarily on the precipice,
I slipped gently into the depths of the abyss,
consumed by a world of pervasive darkness
and a vacuous aura of stark emptiness.

My mind saw visions of tunnel rats in Vietnam,
dripping sweat as they crawled through the labyrinth
to root out the enigmatic enemy, knowing any moment
a booby trap might snuff out the flame of life
like a candle in the dark.

Then the miners trapped in a West Virginia coal mine
as they struggled against noxious fumes and time,
waiting for their rescuers or the expiration of oxygen,
followed shortly by the peaceful slumber of death.

The damp chill brings a shiver to my body
as my fingers grope the walls for a bearing
and my knees scrape along the ragged floor
until dim shades of light appear ahead.

Then my eyes are open and I realize
that the ominous incubus of my psyche
is indeed the dark cave of my soul.