behold

Behold, the old world is dying, and is already
   gone
Behold, a new world is arriving, and is already
   here
 
Nothing you do can stop the flow of the River
   Let go
Breathe into the grief-hollowed spaces of your chest
   and release
  
  
 There is a harsh rapping at your window
 It is snowing now, and very very late
 Before you have found your
 slippers, they have found the
 latch, are crawling through the kitchen
 window, raiding your pantry
 making tea
  
  
 You must greet them
 graciously, add a log to the
 hearth-fire, show them where you keep the
 honey, bring out extra
 chairs, and blankets
 You will be here
 for awhile
  
  
 These are the great-grandmothers and grandfathers
 of you. Dirty, smelly, rude, swearing, spitting
 wild hill-tribe caravanning tent nomads
 these are the heart-wood and root ancestors
 of the first tree of you, and they are
 hungry. They have not been fed in a
 long time
  
  
 You must nourish them the best you can
 it will be good enough
 You must sit down with them by the
 fire, listen to their stories, for you called them
 here when you claimed your place in the
 world, and they have come, whether or not you really
 meant it
  
  
 They know about death, and grief
 and great, great loss
 They have medicine for you
 and your people. For what is dying
 and is already gone
 For what is arriving, and is already
 here


                                                             
  
 
Grandchild, everything you understand about the
 world is about to change. Things will be
 very, very different. Do not fear, let go
 of the raft to which you cling, and trust
 the River. This has all happened before, and it will all happen
 again, for this is the way of the wild world to which you
 truly belong
  
  
 Unbind yourself from ideas of how things
 should be, and pay attention to what
 IS happening, no matter how ugly or violent or
 frightening it may be. This is what a
 dying world looks, and feels, and sounds, and
 smells like. Do not be afraid
 There is a bigger story happening, trust
 the River
  
  
 We have dreamed you, we have summoned you
 we have claimed YOU as the embodied one of
 us, carrying our lineage forward in this time
 of great confusion and transition
 You are not alone, none of this is an accident, you are not
 a mistake. You have been claimed
 by us, you belong here. Do not
 be afraid
  
  
 Behold, the old world is dying, and is already
    gone
 Behold, a new world is arriving, and is already
    here
 Nothing you do can stop the flow of the River
    Let go
 Breathe into the grief-hollowed spaces of your chest
    and release