Once We've Passed Safely Through

I once read it in a book,
But I’ve never seen it with my own eyes,
Not that I’m one who denies
The chance to go have a look.

Guide us down through the deep woods,
Watching out for the Thura cats,
Now as we go take our chance,
Traveling south, wondering if we should.

Because I trust you, if he trusts you, if she trusts you
Now to run with us unimpeded,
And our contract is done and completed
Once we’ve gone and passed safely through.
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With the release of every chapter of Below the Land, I will be posting a companion poem. This is the poem related to Chapter 18.

The Sheer Fury

How do you express it?
That sheer fury at the terror of life,
When everything is just looking up,
And then you remember the ones
Who were left behind in the red
Dying sun of the northern sky.
The anger that comes in the warm night,
In the coldness of a scarred heart,
For the never ending distress of
A frightened mind in the dark waves.
Cheer above that frustration, I say,
But I can’t anymore as I lay
In bed and cry myself to sleep for those
That I left behind in the orange
Of the blazing moon of the starry field.
I scream out at you for justice
Because you’re the only one who listens
To everything I speak
And every pain my heart cries.
_____________________
With the release of every chapter of Below the Land, I will be posting a companion poem. This is the poem related to Chapter 17.

Running Toward

The low rumble of the world below us
Dreams of escape trying to rise up
Through the dust of our shaken day
With nowhere left to run but toward
The danger of the risk of exploding
Like a sunburst in the sky of clouds
Or the moonbeams in the drawing night
With starlight fading to shimmering points

Dried up salt lakes don’t worry me
When I know we started by climbing
Over the mountains to find the desert
The extreme lifeline to the wells beneath
But it ain’t for thirst that I dwell on
Finding a path to the screaming answer
That breaks down the boulders in our way
Or the trouble trembling up from the ground
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With the release of every chapter of Below the Land, I will be posting a companion poem. This is the poem related to Chapter 16.

Still Leaping Heart

The oddest idea I can think of right now
Is that there might be romance in the stars,
With the way they dance in ordered spins,
Rising and falling as the night passes on.

In the lightless forest we linger for a moment,
The touch of your hand on my shoulder,
Making me wonder about purpose—
Can there be something great in such a small notion?

As the wind that passes through the trees,
So the thoughts rustle through my head
When I see you feeding my soul with your smile,
As warm as the broth that strengthens my limbs.

Twilight is still just enough illumination,
Even away from the hot fire we know we must kindle,
To see the honesty of a friend in the shadows,
And I trust you would catch, with ease, my still leaping heart.
_____________________
With the release of every chapter of Below the Land, I will be posting a companion poem. This is the poem related to Chapter 15.