THE CAVE
By Zac Dunn
Art by Curtis Bergesen aka Collage The World
Published Issue 146, February 2026
The test strips
Turned blue in urine cups
Or Kool-Aid given in haste
Or communion of conditions
Plastered upon Parisian buttresses
And ramparts flippant and forgiven
Moats full of eels and trout spout
ROE that bubble light and radioactive
Flatulence in flagranti volcanic
INDIGO infatuation adverbs antiquated to
Obtuse angles and RIGHT WHALE FINS
Begin making waves
So blue and cool
Yet cruel while antediluvian otters
Anchoring HULL DRUG ideology
Upon rock outcroppings and rusted
Wrecks that exude the slow corrosive
Hold as brine and ore explore being
Less separate atoms and devolve
Into feline calculus subtracted with
Broken digits of dyslexic members
Only hatching webbed feet
That scamper on frozen ponds
Updrafts and laughter lifting
A carcass above yapping mouths of
SILVER FOX teeth clacking back up
Myrtle as the pigeons and sewer water
Evaporate into slurry and street RAT cement
The oil rig ROUGHNECK retires to a bunk of toil
And dinosaur essence while the diamond bit
Plunged into the brittle sea bed mantle
In hopeless and infinite query to quarry into
The bottoms that we all labor in vein to avoid
As gulf winds bring blooms and
CRIMSON TIDES to the DELTA
And the CROSS ROADS
And HELTER SKELTER
TEX told the young folk to do the deed
The clown in the box was no organ grinder at all
Yet the voice that commands often looks in the mirror
Prior to ever uttering a word
The caves hold bat guano
So Perry forth into the crevices
TALLY HO!
3:36am 7.28.24.0000003 OGE IZU 314
Zac Dunn is a psycho-social mechanic, father, musician and dreamer. Check out his music and follow him on X | Instagram | Tumblr.
Curtis Bergesen — aka Collage The World — was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Bethesda, MD. He is a vegetarian, only child, Eagle Scout and nature lover. Curtis has spent much of his adult life working in the music business. After over a decade of marketing, publicity, and social media ghost writing, Curtis decided to unplug and search for more creatively fulfilling opportunities. Collage The World was born in March 2017 after an inspiring trip to Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood. Curtis creates handmade collage that frequently incorporates images of nature and wildlife. In the fall of 2018 Curtis relocated to Mexico City for seven months. He now lives in Denver, CO.
Head to our Explore section to see more from these talented artists.