Heavy Hands Ink

George Moore

Buddha Caves-

Deep in an earth that does not give back light,

down five guano splattered cathedrals of rock,

along a knotted rope the monks use without candles,

the Dante tourist descends through heaven.

Below on a platform made of curled wood,

strung with a loose tapestry of old saffron robes—

curtains to deter the bats—we sit and breathe an earth

that has known the origin of darkness.