Night’s Geology - Edit3

[dukealien]

Night’s Geology

Edit3

What gets you through the tunnel and the nights
Is much the same: it answers midnight dread -
Of feared abandonment and cave-in plights -
With claims of love or safety, read or said.
Hope’s not enough:  you must own confidence,
Belief in science, that this tunnel’s roof
Is like each other’s, bored through rock as dense,
That’s crushed no one – a tested, public proof.
You likewise trust the pillars of your mind -
Religion, romance, ideology -
Because they’ve helped so many souls to find
Safe passage through each night’s geology.
    We tunnel not with instinct, but belief;
    Our overburdened lives want stress relief.

{Previous versions }

Edit2

What gets you through the tunnel and the nights
Is much the same: it answers midnight dread -
Of feared abandonment and cave-in plights -
With claims of love or safety, read or said.
Hope’s not enough:  you must own confidence,
Belief in science, that this tunnel’s roof
Is like each other’s, bored through rock as dense,
That’s crushed no one – a tested, public proof.
You likewise trust the pillars of your mind -
Religion, romance, ideology -
Because they’ve helped so many souls to find
Safe passage through each night’s geology.
    To engineer is human; so’s belief:
    The stress of life, like steel, wants strain relief.

Edit1

What gets you through the tunnel and the night
Is much the same: there’s dread it frees you of,
Fear of abandonment, like rocky height
Above, weighs down, no breath, no light, no love.
Hope’s not enough:  you must own confidence,
Belief in science, that this tunnel’s roof
Is like each other’s, bored through rock as dense,
That’s crushed no one – a tested, public proof.
You likewise trust the pillars of your mind -
Revealed religion, ideology -
Because they’ve helped so many souls to find
Safe passage through each night’s geology.
    To engineer is human; so’s belief:
    The stress of life, like stone, wants strain relief.


Original version

What gets you through the tunnel and the night
Is much the same: there’s dread it frees you of,
Fear of abandonment, like rocky height
Above, weighs down, no breath, no light, no love.
Hope’s not enough:  you must own confidence,
Belief in science, that this tunnel’s roof
Is like each other’s, bored through rock as dense,
That’s crushed no one – a tested, public proof.
You trust the pit-props shoring up your mind
Likewise, religion, ideology,
Because they’ve helped so many souls to find
Safe passage through each night’s geology.
    To engineer is human; so’s belief:
    The stress of life, like stone, wants strain relief.