*artwork - Geoff Taylor*

within a cave cold and dark
retreating here to lick my wounds
nursing bruises i endured for you
i brought you love
i heard so what
i brought you light
i heard who cares
i brought affection
you turned away
it will take an effort to coax me out
and honey, you know i'm afraid of the dark

doesn't anyone bring
flowers anymore

while in here i look around
slide my hands along the wall
hoping i don't touch something icky
creepy, scary, or hideously ugly
a sound of water further back
passages low i crawl on fours
i find a fresh spring trickling
forming a small pool
gracious me this water's warm
perfect for my black and blue
i let the water kiss each one
and ponder why i'm here

perhaps the dark should be explored
for it's just a hardened wall of
granite and obsidian
knowing the sun moves across the sky
out of fire into earth
my paws will pad across this cave
perhaps i'll find a shining vein
of gold or crystalline
a lap of water, i lick my fangs
and sniff the ground
knowing your scent will lead me through
the darkness of this cave