The Old Gods are waking up
I feel the truth of the words in my bones, and see the evidence in my home.
Birds that follow where we stray,
Animal remains that refuse to fade away,
Strange currents stirring underground,
And unseen eyes that gather round.
How do you honor the God you do not know?
Whose name was not known by your people, and whose people were eradicated by your own?
The names of the Gods were lost,
not to time, but through persecution.
A genocide that swept through the land,
eradicating the old ways to make way for something new,
something modern,
something cruel.
How do you honor the God you do not know?
Acknowledge the fear that follows revelation.
Fear of retribution, for sins that have been committed.
Fear of balance being restored,
and the payment required to settle the score.
Fear of being unworthy of mercy.
The crimes committed were not by your hands nor by your blood,
yet you have benefited all the same.
How do you honor the God you do not know?
The Old Gods are Wild, Feral, Callous.
They follow the laws of nature,
not a moral compass that assigns values of kindness and cruelty.
A predator does not kill because it is cruel.
Prey does not perish as punishment for a crime.
These events occur as part of the order of nature,
balanced and reciprocal,
yet dangerous all the same.
How do you honor the God you do not know?
Acknowledge those who came before,
as well as the pain and privilege you bear,
then set aside your ego and fear,
and meet the Gods who linger near.
Tellers of truth,
Bringers of Balance,
Born of the land and wilds within.
How do you honor the God you do not know?
Offer your name and tell them your story,
Explain all that has led you to this place, to this moment.
Be humble if you dare ask them to do the same.
Understand reciprocity is not a requirement of the exchange.
How do you honor the God you do not know?
Forget what you know, what you think you remember.
Learn who to honor, and who to fear.
Learn how to trust that which you hear.
Learn who is watching from deep in the trees,
Learn what to do to appease their needs.
Learn the balance between respect and suspicion,
Learn how to live in harmony with or without reciprocation.
How do you honor the God you do not know?
You put in the effort to learn, and to grow.
