The Little Red Boat in the Great Big Sea

Slipping through a grid 

  like water down the drain

beneath . ..

towards secret parts

down through

arched braces, like shoulders holding up the earth above.

Down 

down

down

where orange light fades to barely glowing embers

Under

cold rocks

and black coal

 where souls rest

like cold seeds.

Uncharted and tiny spaced 

where caverns twist in jagged

narrowing spaces.

Unreachable and unknowable. 

That unfamiliar place meant for suffering.

Hell on earth... or below it. 

This is the place where mothers mourn 

and dreams are buried.

This is the place unspoken

because it is only known by it's residence.

Tonight this is where I dwell.