We enter through a hole in the earth,
In silence we scream,shedding our skin.
Some easily become invisible among the trees.
For others the first wind hitting is a shocking slap,a first breath,
No time to be taken gently
By fathers’ hands firmly supporting to mama’s soft belly.
Oh! how I love to lay in upon the earth
But instead,lined up and tossed
Into the rushing river, scratched by reeds.
We wake to meet the medicine man,
Reflexive battle twitches,
Limbs learn strength in wrestling,
Digging in each foot and climbing the hill to join the tribe.
Drummers drive the male rain hard into the earth
As masks crack.
Pain packed dormant like a rotting root of a tooth
Rises tension, to grinding,
To deep growling wolf
Howl into the face of the storm.
Winds whip the frenzy
Leaving the illusion of the electric world behind,
As the shadow leaps over the fire
And the grim grip of the intellect loses control.
We dance , we play, we warm ourselves by the fire.
We watch our fears take form and float across the sky
Clouds changing shape
From ships of Viking berserkers to swash buckling heroes and fools,
Flashes of sword and lightning,
The smell of our ancestors
Swirl in our nostrils and then ride away again,
Leaving us beaten and worn
From inner battles.
Still standing in the silence of oak, manzanita, redwood,and madrone,
Knowing more about where we came from,
We stare into the fire and the shadows on each other’s faces
Feeling wounds opened and closed.
Wounds of fathers and lovers
washed by the rain
We listen to stories from the heart
And in this circle move toward wholeness ready to walk
Back on the path toward our dreams
Lit by the healing torch of our sameness
Chanted in the deep voices of men.
And the full moon rising over the green wisdom of the valley.
The owl says goodnight.
—
Steve Backinhoff
Dancing Gorilla