berry cave salamander

We finally left the house yesterday around 5p, to go walking. Renee and I settled on Meads Quarry.

Meads Quarry has some neat trails, and lots of green lagoons. I could see Ophelia just beneath the green ick, swarming mosquitoes

We walked and walked.
however, there were signs of treachery along the path

a moment of documented fear:
I'm so...................... startled.

we finally found what we came looking for: the great Berry Cave, where the Berry Cave Salamander resides. This unique species is indigenous only to the maze of connecting caves beneath the Meads Quarry here in Knoxville Tennessee.

The shot is blurry, the cave is illusive.

On our way out we encountered the ancient silo shrine, left by the previous tribe of greedy white people from Meads Quarry.

The long saga of Meads Quarry as Recounted by the last know survivors
The Great Berry Cave Salamander

Ode to the Berry Cave Salamander

right under your nose
your lips shiver, and teeth chatter
your eyes quiver

its 4am, we've been living here *
on minnows, sediment and tepid baths with
mud in our eyes

how long *
can you go without feeling
just below your heart
in your hands or in your feet

how long *
can you go without feeling
the sensation of dry ground
a tiny bit of light through the curtain

right here in this quarry
its cold but you get used to it
wade back into berry cave
you'll see what was buried

spring fed lions *
crumbling lime stone towers
push cart tracks that end
in underbrush and cliff ending

how long *
can you go without seeing
the reflection of a day
just dissappearing from the mouth of a cave

how long *
can you go without saying
the things you've carried
so far with you to me