First we clear the topsoil and the stones
then we shovel
hard into the clay beneath
 
after which the earth is dense and packed
with artifacts from other times
as well as sounds that could never escape
 
groaning and screams
inquisitive voices seeming to ask
the way somewhere
 
and answers that say here come here
only for a trap to spring
followed by the slamming of a door
 
the click of a lock
the slow drip of just enough water
to maintain survival
 
so we keep on going deeper ever deeper
darker into the dark
we keep on digging
 
until the blade of a shovel strikes rock
and a spark appears
a flash of hope to see by

 
David Chorlton