Reindeer Men
Hole in the ground
passage to another world.
Elders speak the laws
cut our cheeks,
send us into darkness.
How long must we crawl
on our bellies like worms?
This is no dark that we understand;
this blackness authors the night.
Bodies barely fit these passages
as we inch forward.
Rock wet with blood,
we gasp for air
down, down we crawl
into the heat of the Mother.
Flash of light, flash again
drumming bends the air.
Our tongues crave the salt
of the rock walls
that rub against our wounds.
Dark hands
of the reindeer men
pull us to freedom.
Strong fingers
peel away the crust
of old skin
to reveal
our velvet antlers.
© Patrick O’Neill 2010. All rights reserved
