This is a poem based on the Native American tradition of The Vision Quest. Usually a member of the tribe that appears to have a unique connection to the spiritual world is taken out to the forest and left alone for several days without food and is given {peyote} a hallucinogenic, for him to make the passing into the world of spirits. If he survives, he will be trained to be a Shaman or Holy Man. If he fails The Vision Quest; he will die.
The Vision Quest:
The leaves are changing color
The season is growing old
I seek to find the answer
Now my story can be told
Not much more than a child
An honor given to me
To wander in the forests
To remember all I see
I shiver in the forests
No food or water to drink
To purify my body
To allow myself to think
I smoke the herbs they give me
A vital part of my test
Traveling with the spirits
Beginning the Vision Quest
Hallucinations take me
To a land beyond the sun
Beyond the sea of monsters
To a land of beating drums
Where buffalo are running
Their spirits dance with the night
These mystical illusions
Teaching me of truth and right
To honor my ancestors
I promised to do my best
The real and make believe
Are part of the Vision Quest
My hunger now consumes me
My empty stomach growls
I scream out in the evening
Like the hungry wolf who howls
Sweat pouring from my body
I chant my song to the night
Deliver me from exile
Please return me to the light
The Goddess smiles at me
She is proud of what I've done
I survived the Vision Quest
Now the battle has been won
Returning to my body
Thankful that I have survived
The Spirit Walk has ended
Those who do not make it die
I will become a Shaman
The holy man of my tribe
Passing the edge of darkness
I was dead, but now alive