Cathedrals

I am not afraid when you call me down
down the basement steps under the house
down, down in the ground

black cows are limping, the white dogs bark
crickets are screaming, smoke in the barn
just like a field snake eating a mouse
just like a blue gill, hook through its mouth
down, down in the ground

cry for the toy trains lost in the snow
cry for the dead deer surrounded by crows
you call me softly down in the dark
down where the red worms circle like sharks
down, down in the ground

under the black mud in your quiet house
you have prepared my place to lie down
a house in the rock where sorrows drown
old man or baby make no more sound
down, down in the ground