ST PAUL'S CATACOMBS, RABAT, MALTA

Through these catacombs of stone
My spirit wanders, lost, alone;
By tonnes of rock my bounds are set
The passing years weigh heavier yet.

My loved ones brought me to this place
Hymns they sang with quiet grace,
The mourning meal they paused to eat
Then laid me down, their task complete.
As fossoers* sealed me in my crypt
My soul into the tunnels slipped,
And tried to follow, to climb the stair
That led to life, to light & air;
But unseen forces barred my way
Down below's where I must stay!

For centuries I've roamed these tombs
Some mere holes and some whole rooms,
Here lay a tradesman, here one of high birth
Together they rotted beneath cold earth.
I've seen lost mortals die of thirst
Seen tomb raiders do their worst,
I've seen inscriptions fade with time:
Greed! Neglect! Each its own crime.

Countless burials I once observed
In ancient rites no more preserved;
And yet my loved ones came no more
Not since they plugged my own tomb's door.
What fate befell them up above?
What doom robbed me of their love?
I do not know, I never will
Forgotten I roam the darkness still.

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Through these catacombs of stone
My spirit wanders, lost, alone;
By tonnes of rock my bounds are set
The passing years weigh heavier yet.

COPYRIGHT D M PAMMENT 2009