Shaman's Dance poem by Dyfed Lloyd Evans
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Shaman’s Dance
Burn bright, pyres from the past,
Where serpents dance and writhe
Dragons raise their firedrake heads
Wise-men rouse the dead.
Kindle sacred five-fold boughs,
Oaken, ashen, willow apple-blossom yew
To light the sacred way.
Partake of the chief of meads
Ancient mushroom-heady brew
Then cavort with the shades
Cast-off earth-bound shackles, steel
To don the feathered cloak
Feel the flame-tongues lick your skin
Then creep on to your bones.
Leap the embers, cross the ford,
Let the wolfsong call
Assume once more the mantric form
Then join the paths of time.
Walk into eternal flame,
Seek-out the dark eternal brand
Cross from this world to the next
Across the bridge of fire.
Where serpents dance and writhe
Dragons raise their firedrake heads
Wise-men rouse the dead.
Kindle sacred five-fold boughs,
Oaken, ashen, willow apple-blossom yew
To light the sacred way.
Partake of the chief of meads
Ancient mushroom-heady brew
Then cavort with the shades
Cast-off earth-bound shackles, steel
To don the feathered cloak
Feel the flame-tongues lick your skin
Then creep on to your bones.
Leap the embers, cross the ford,
Let the wolfsong call
Assume once more the mantric form
Then join the paths of time.
Walk into eternal flame,
Seek-out the dark eternal brand
Cross from this world to the next
Across the bridge of fire.
I can't directly recall where this poem came from, though I was reading a poem about Tungusk shamanism at the time. I suppose that I related the practices of modern shamanism to what my own ancestors might have practiced and the result was this poem. As explanations go, this is as good as any, though where a poem actually comes from is as much a mystery to me as anyone. It is a product of the awen, the embodiment of inspiration.
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