Before I tell you about caves, I need to tell you about water. The water that fell. From the heavens, into the bowels of the earth. Sometimes it fell with a whoosh. Sometimes it fell with a whisper. It fell over rocks, very particular rocks, that listened to water so well, they let water form a path through them. This is how the earth opened. Into spaces so tiny and so gigantic they could fit a human. Some people use words like caves, but I prefer to call them passageways. These are the places the planet keeps her secrets. Like a fish so attuned to the dark, she has no eyes. And a cockroach that gracefully feasts on a mountain of dung. These are the creatures we know about, there are others. Tiny unknowables the human is not ready to understand. You see, the way things move around here, they take a lot of patience to discover. And very few humans are good at patience. That’s why the secrets of the underworld are only seen by eyes that have learned not to see at all. But to gaze. Since it is so dark inside, the secret chamber can carry the mysteries of the world. Everything that passes into its belly has a story, and that story is safeguarded in the underplaces. I suppose that’s why it’s so hard to find things, without getting lost yourself. If you happen to slip a finger into the underworld, then an elbow, then an eye, you will know what I’m talking about. It frees you of things, sliding on your belly. Almost as fast as a salamander. You may be tempted to take something of your own. How about learning to touch without leaving a trace? If you become invisible, you just might see into the dark.
I tell you all of this, because sometimes hidden places are easily forgotten about. Especially if they are dirty. And havens for bats. Maybe also if they are formed from the fury of lava. Or the weep of water through ice castles. The whir of wind against a cliff. Or the rhythm of waves over mighty rock.
We may forget the stories that are held here. The vivid images that were etched on walls. The way water is held in a dark cradle by an old Mother. The shy exhibitionism of calcite chandeliers. And have you heard the gentle sway of a body yielding to flowstone? Or how crystal holds the eye in a trance? It’s best I don’t tell you much. But leave the mystery to enter you with a whoosh or with a whisper. You may find there are particular rocks inside. That listen to water so well, you can sense a path through them. Into a space so tiny and so gigantic, it can fit a human.
~ Previously published by European Speleological Federation FSE
Carol Krause 