Talks-With-Shadows

And The Elders come close to converse with he,
Passing forth their wisdom into his mind,
So when the time comes, and he must speak,
He can speak with the tongue of the higher planes,
and he hears much, and he feels breezes,
and in his room he detects shadows,
and he senses their voices in his mind,
and he sees much more than any mortal will ever know.

We call him Talks-With›-Shadows,
he is no stranger to us.
Though white he once was red like us,
he talked with the shadows then just the same.

He sets his soul in flames,
On the wing of the Raven he sits,
and then as the Eagle he gazes,
deep into the planes of home,
seeing what is not meant to be seen,
hearing what is not meant to be heard.
He speaks with his mind and reaches out,
and touches the minds of those shadows.

He is treated with great respect,
an elder initiate who surely shall go far.
He touches on the planes of The Ancestors,
and is granted access to there.

To walk there as one, for he is one,
though it has taken many passing moons,
for him to realise his rights of birth,
to earn his rites of passage,
he has taken on board so much pain.
Thus, he earns the deepest respect,
yet still he is there asking for more.
He is truly brave and he is truly foolish.

Written by Matthew James 12th June 1996