Charismatic Caves Poem by John Knight

My friends all call me Troglodite
Because I work in caves
I'm better than the necrophiles
Who play about in graves!

There really is an 'Inner Earth'
A place where silence dwells
Away from surface noise and strife
And nasty urban smells!

Once you are undeneath the ground
And have a source of light
You glimpse a thing most beautiful
The slender stalactite.

It's these that make a barren cave
Into a Fairy Land
Their pointed shape - their poignant shades
Their smooth feel in you hand!

What forms a stalactite? You ask
And how long does it take?
More than a thousand years my friend
Be careful not to break!

When water dripped through limestone rock
Some of the rock dissolved
And reappeared as stalactites
So there's your problem solved!

So drip by drip and year by year
The stalactities are born
The drips that reach the floor build up
For stalagmites to form.

And when they in the middle - join
A column you will see
Just like the ones in Ancient Greece
With same antiquity.

This wonderland that nature's formed
Without the aid of man
The glory of the 'Under World'
Please visit if you can.

Children especially need to see
The beauty that is there
Unseen - untouched by human hand
No City can compare.

There's stalactities and stalagmites
And 'frozen' waterfalls
And columns yellow, red and blue
A sight that all enthralls!

So never doubt the 'Love of God'
In His creative power
He made all things with loving care
Each bird each bee each flower.

And even in the 'Under World'
Where no one ever sees
Gods crystal clear creative power
Created scenes like these!

Dedicated to all speilologists - potholers - cave men - crystal geeks and anyone who at any time and for whatever reason - has lifted the lid - taken the plunge and gone into God's Amazing Subterranian Territory - in short become a TROG!

(John Knight - Colchester - October 2009)