PELE’S WORDSA rocky ledge beneath my feet
Juts out atop the hillside.
A moist green valley wafts sweet air
As fragrant grasses cast a spell.
There float white clouds like slow, fat sheep,
Propelled on gusts of vapor,
Drifting far below these hills.
I tower above raw nature.
A god lives there, I sense dark eyes
Follow all my movements.
I must intrude upon her world,
Despite my waning confidence.
She knows my quest, my broken heart.
My need for peace is greater
Than prudent fear of things unknown.
To find it, I must seek her.
Once before, I felt her near.
She whispered words of wonder.
Secrets kept from human ears,
Stirred in my deepest slumber.
Within these chasms sang the winds,
Moaning words of pulsing magic.
I felt safe then, I feel lost now,
I strive to quell the panic.
The goddess lives, her fiery blood
Creates the rocks I stand on.
She feels my fears, yet tolerates
My weak skills of survival.
Her exhaled breaths of ash and smoke
Could slay me if I stand near
Enough to feel her rumbling heart.
My own beats like an anvil.
I need her strength, I need her words,
To make the change within me.
To find the joy within this rock,
This heart and love that failed me.
“If you face those things you dread,
And brave your hidden terrors,
The strength you seek is yours to take,
Peaceful beauty midst raw power.”