New Year's Eve
It was near nightfall
when we descended upon the cave, its opening a broad maw
like the mouth of a catfish, tapering into deeper reaches
of darkness We crawled up to the basin -
a small pool, no larger in diameter than a dinner plate, its depth
at most six inches.
It was unclear how it formed, whether by time, wind, and water, or perhaps shaped by human hand to gather the scant drops
of water that seeped
from the dank stone. We knelt down
in the failing light
of dus