On thrumming vessel deck, the charts half-rolled
Pinned down against salt gusts. They're incomplete
Vast gaps obscure those lineaments beneath
That trace earth's crust with all her rents and folds
While empty bottles wobble 'cross the teak
Set instruments, absorb the roll and pitch
From which to calculate position fixed
And generate a stable sonar sweep
The signal sent, now shimmering between
Pulse and return of echoes from abyss
The lace-faint whispers of unfathomed clefts
And spires that mark convulsive shifts, unseen
But by pale phosphor eyes of grotto fish
Proves geologic drift, earth's living breath