My Secret River

Beneath the rolling, grassy hills
Bathed in sunshine, washed with rain,
Squeeze into the hidden cavern,
Filled with darkness, steeped in pain.

Descend through all-consuming sadness,
Down through labyrinths of hurt,
Where the whispering ghosts of madness
Murder any radiant thoughts.

At the bottom, lift the trapdoor
Drop into the icy cold,
There to find the secret river,
In the basement of my soul.

Flowing there in perfect blackness
Liquid steel and silk sublime
My cancer and my comforter,
Deep, mysterious, ever mine.