DROPS FROM THE CAULDRON*

Drink from a moonlit lake 

the old stories, forests of reflected grief, 

drowned banquets, and collapsed 

bridges made of thorns.

Walk naked into a blizzard 

with a stag at your back, bellowing.

Stop to watch a tree at sunrise breathe 

on your way to a crossroads.

Bring a wolf to a kindergarten class,

witness it teaching the little ones 

about the magic they will soon forget.

Then later, squabble with your brothers 

and sisters at the lip of a great cauldron

about what’s needed to keep the brew boiling.

Add hardwood and your breath to the fire.

Do all this and a grain will grow 

in the belly of a black hen

and lightning will flash in the eye of the mind

like a salmon brazenly crossing a fierce current.

In other words: 

Marry yourself to myth. 

Harness its energy.

If you choose this - and it is

a choice - you will have 

the life you imagine.

*Inspired by Martin Shaw’s book, 

A Branch from the Lightning Tree: 

Ecstatic Myth and the Grace in Wilderness