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Histories: Initiation

The first time—when he came here as a boy—
they told him he was entering the Womb
of the Earth & that he must avoid
touching anything within the sacred rooms
of stone. In line behind a single light
the boys entered a giant limestone chamber.
The Elders each set new torches alight
& in their glow he first beheld the stranger
world known only to initiates & shamans—
where Bison, Deer, Elk, & The Antlered Man
swirled on the cave walls. Calling to his daemon/
spirit guide, an Elder took his hand,
held it to the stone & blew a mist
of pigment— to show God that he exists.