To the Underworld

Dawn Vogel

To the Underworld

A crack, jagged and crooked
A picnic, interrupted
A woman, hysterical

A warm and sunny spring day
Perfect for enjoying outdoors
A crack, jagged and crooked

Earth opens beneath her feet
Pulling everything downward
A picnic, interrupted

The fires of the underworld
A leering face soon appears
A woman, hysterical

Dawn Vogel’s academic background is in history, so it’s not surprising that much of her fiction is set in earlier times. By day, she edits reports for historians and archaeologists. In her alleged spare time, she runs a craft business, co-edits Mad Scientist Journal, and tries to find time for writing. Her steampunk adventure series, Brass and Glass, is available from DefCon One Publishing. She is a member of Broad Universe, SFWA, and Codex Writers. She lives in Seattle with her husband, author Jeremy Zimmerman, and their herd of cats. Visit her at http://historythatneverwas.com.

Editor’s Notes: Dawn’s poem is called a cascade, a form created by Udit Bhatia. It “is all about receptiveness, but in a smooth cascading way like a waterfall. The poem does not have any rhyme scheme; therefore, the layout is simple” (Shadow Poetry: A Poet’s Writing Resource). A nice tutorial shows the challenge of writing one is found here: https://yeahwrite.me/writing-help-cascades/

The abstract art (wallpapersden/Radim Kacer) with its surreal colors imagined in the chaos of an earthquake in the countryside exposing an abyss, and superimposed devil head (hiclipart), is one way to represent this poem.