I found a monstrous cavern in the hills,

A rift so black and terrible that it dazed me.

I stood there, with my back bent to an arch,

My left hand clutching at my knee, my right

Shading contracted eyes. I strained to see

Into that blackness, till the strong desire

To know what marvellous thing might lurk within

Conquered my fear. I took a ball of thread

And tied one end to a lightning-blasted tree.

I made myself a torch of resinous pine