Dig harder, for the sunless hours are coming
And the work that must be done is not complete,
When in the East is heard the sound of drumming
And the steady stamp and beat of marching feet.

Dig harder, for the time that’s left grows shorter
And the work ends with the dying of the light.
Eve’s veil already spread across the water,
The troops of darkness mustered for the fight.

Dig harder, build the base of the foundations
Of the fortress which must needs be left behind
For the guarding and the good of generations
That have yet to meet the demons of the mind.

Dig harder, for the dream of Peace is fading,
The carrion flocks are wheeling overhead
Hungrily awaiting midnight’s raiding
Of the charnel-houses of the living dead.

Dig harder, for you have no other reason
In the time remaining ‘til the light expires.
So dig until the turning of the season
Extinguishes the flaming of the fires.

Dig harder, for you have no rhyme but digging
And what you do not dig remains undone,
And that not done is never more for digging
For both must set within the setting sun.

July 2002