Caves and Mazes

stalagmite or stalactite--
you remind me the difference

we traverse blunt rocks and dripping cold water, a dark and windy maze: 
one foot in front of the other

no road sign, but we trust each other

I wrote this poem for the We’ave Written Weekly prompt #194, which was provided by Nolcha Fox. The prompt asks us to do the following:

Cherita is the Malay word for story or tale.

A traditional cherita unfolds in three verses, each growing in length:

Verse 1: one line
Verse 2: two lines
Verse 3: three lines

You’re also welcome to rearrange the order of the verses. Any of these patterns work:

1–3–2
2–1–3
2–3–1
3–1–2
3–2–1

Your challenge: Write a cherita inspired by one, two, or all of the following themes:

Cave
Special delivery
Missing road sign

Let the structure guide the story—and see where it takes you.

I’m so glad to see a cave-related prompt in here because my family has made a few trips to caves. When you grew up near a region with old mining shafts and now have a husband who LOVES rocks, you’re bound to find yourself in a cave or two. 😅

I have a pretty severe fear of heights, but I don’t have much claustrophobia, so traveling underground doesn’t bother me. I enjoy the twists and turns of caves, especially the ones that have large, wide-open spaces. The rock formations are fascinating, and it’s interesting to think of these hidden gems deep beneath our feet. My two oldest kiddos actually took a school field trip to a local cave last year, and the second oldest keeps asking to go back. It’s not really a winter activity, but we plan to visit in the spring. I thought I’d share some other cave images from a trip in Ohio a few years ago.