Copse ‘n’ Corpse (Part 7)

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~ Copse ‘n’ Corpse (Part 7) ~ By ~ Dewin Nefol ~

~

Deep, dark, unsettling murk,

Gaping gaps where creatures lurked,

Small fish swished, sped and swam,

Hurried, scurried, scattered, scrammed.

~

Bumped, bruised, breathless, confused,

My body scratched and scraped,

Turning, twisting, without desisting,

Persisting despite my aches.

~

Hastening hard along the line,

When I saw a light source shine.

Twas dull at first, as if submersed,

Diffused by silt each tidal burst.

~

But a light is was, a beaming ray,

Through salty sea had made its way,

To shine brightly in caliginous grey:

Illume small space to survey.

~

Straining to see through sombre sea,

I was convinced beyond all doubt,

Bubbles flowed and quickly rose,

Rising from a thermal spout.

~

Not just one bubble but a stream!

A string of bubbles ascending!

Could it be oxygen being vented?

Or anoxic gas quickly lamented?

~

Whilst tied by cable down below,

I had no choice but to go.

Investigate pearlescent glow,

Or else forgo my life!

~

Closer now, said shaft of light,

Glowed at depths to my right.

Twas pale but sufficiently bright,

To guide me to the venting site.

~

Kicking hard ‘tween coral shards,

Through kelp and rocky reef,

I hauled down hard on seaweed stems,

Towering from way beneath.

~

The shaft of light now dim in glim,

Pooled on something glistening.

Mineral matter from a vent,

Scattered the floor as sediment.

~

Cautious, despairing, in need of airing,

Fearing hot toxic stew,

I slammed a hand into the flow,

Watched as bubbles bubbled through.

~

Cool to touch, no smell or scent,

I placed my mouth to the vent,

Then squatting down upon the ground,

Breathed-in effervescence.

~

Oxygen rich was a heady mix,

I succumbed to disorientation.

Yet held by cable, I felt enabled,

Buoyed by oxygenation.

~

With lungs inflated, spirit elated,

Once again pursuing the line,

To where extended it abruptly ended,

Beyond slats of shattered pine.

~

If not for absence of silt and debris,

Or flourishing fields of swaying kelpie,

I’d never have seen where cable led:

To a cavernous opening on seabed.

~

Twas entrance to a deserted mine,

Abandoned from an earlier time,

When long before sea-water tore,

 Crumbled dry land upon the shore.

~*~

~ Copse ‘n’ Corpse (Part 6) precedes this post. Part 8 to follow shortly ~

~*~