I went down into the earth-
dug down and through
Emerging in a lake- rising in the air
Shaking and gyrating
Until the bear and fox caught me
Grandmother fire- making a rattle
Sitting like a tree, brown and withered
Grandmother earth- giving and smiling
Fire consumes flesh
As fear fades away
Handing me the rattle- passing passing
Smiling, sitting- brown like a tree stump
Brown like the earth I dug through
Don’t leave, though I will remain
As you go, you remain with me
Sound your rattle, uplift these ears
Enliven this heart
Stillness is the way.