II. A sliver of LIght - Ode to my job

The tunnel long and dank
prays for continued dark
so we cannot see the husks of those who have been here
before we too lost our dreams

It is not the fault of the tunnel that it houses
such a treacherous path

Shoulder to shoulder many have
continued to strive
whispering under our breath like supplicants
"Wherever two or more of you are gathered together in my Name
there will I be also"
and we often reach out
to touch a robe
fingers brush that of another, lost,

We have a Friend
We trust, ultimately, always
He carries us now

The tunnel, long and dank
In need of an airing
created to divide
not to join one place to another
sometimes the echo of shells and shales
sliding to the road below us
signal imminent destuction

I dare not say aloud to the others
we are still afraid to be so bold
I thought I felt, today, a breeze
a wind's beginning
and for a moment, it seemed not so dark
I know how easy to imagine the smell of freedom
in the dark side siren's call