I am not afraid when you call me down

down the basement steps under the house

down, down in the ground



black cows are limping, the white dogs bark

crickets are screaming, smoke in the barn

just like a field snake eating a mouse

just like a blue gill, hook through its mouth

down, down in the ground



cry for the toy trains lost in the snow

cry for the dead deer surrounded by crows

you call me softly down in the dark

down where the red worms circle like sharks

down, down in the ground



under the black mud in your quiet house

you have prepared my place to lie down

a house in the rock where sorrows drown

old man or baby make no more sound

down, down in the ground