© by Nancy Nowak (b. 1952)

The two of us at the prow; the bored...
Language: English 
The two of us at the prow; the bored guide
poling our boat down the underground river.
In this limestone cave, lucent, flesh-like rock
is tamed, renamed the Hanging Gardens,
Satan's Beard.  Plant spores from tourists' jackets
grow under the spotlights on the cave walls;
we are the cave's only other life.
At water's edge, we're stopped.  Beyond, a fall
of rocks, the hum of a generator.
The guide turns off every light.  All darkness:
I am alone in it (tell myself we)
the slow eye of darkness unbearable,
and to be borne, alone.  And a part of us
as surely as the sudden return of light.

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Text Authorship:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Lynn Steele (1951 - 2002), "The two of us at the prow; the bored guide" [mezzo-soprano, flute (doubles on alto flute), oboe (doubles on English horn), viola, cello, celesta, and percussion (vibraphone, marimba, triangle, bell tree, wind gong, crotales, metal wind chimes, glass wind chimes, temple blocks)], from Walking through the heart, no. 4. [
     text verified 1 time
    ]

Researcher for this page: Lynn Steele

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 107