Fire Ritual | Part II | Exteriorization by Kaitlin L

For whatever reason this won't format completely correct but, here goes.



First I cleanse.
Rinse what I have gathered, the sweat of stress, the dirt of travel, scents of places been and people touched.
I emerge as clean as a newborn, blank slate.
Heat makes the pores open.

<>
(Shed the Excess)
Become pure,
become

blank.


I take a piece of charcoal from the bag. I chose one that is large and protruding, with plenty of soot. I juggle it lightly between my fingers, feel its weight. The ash wants to come off, and does so on my fingers.
(Shed the excess)

the weight of the important words
lies heavy
but not saying them is not an option
when my body extends beyond my own
a tool for the

{{{{ c h a n n e l l }}}

the weight can only leave after shedding

So I make the first mark between the eyebrows, up the crest of the forehead, to accentuate the Pineal Gland, the Third Eye. Let me see you, I’ll let you see me
I consent
Through this exteriorization of the mind
exteriorization of the words
this body
(a canvas)

the ash runs out, I take another piece of charcoal.

Accentuate
(Ex-intuit)
The jaw line, the nose bridge, the chin, down to the mouth
Not just my face now, but the face of my brothers and sisters
I wear the warrior’s paint
And we are of the same tribe

The weight of the words lies heavy on my skin.
What has (not) been said,
and silence penetrates the

~~~~~~~~~~
undercurrent
a bottomless ocean
a bottomless grave

down

down

down


the silence must be FRAMED to give it importance. Framed by words, jumbles of sound and squiggles.
A frail attempt to give form to the silence
But the silence will give it form
Like in a drawing class, where you are taught to draw the space in between the objects
Which then creates the object


The negative space
gives the form


Me


him

her



she

I


Is


the





hush.


Beautiful emptiness,
yet with such fullness


the ash is out. I pick another piece.

Ex-intuiting the muscles in my neck, my hands chest and legs,
Into the street and into your eyes, you see me now, you become aware of the muscles my neck, my hands, chest and legs
My Pineal Gland
My tribe
No longer a blind

-------------------------------------passing----------------->

I flow with the current
That is current
And I know the tribe can feel me somehow

I am present and I see you seeing me
I am the warrior ready for the world
I’ve exteriorized the most painful, important, urgent words
And seared them across the body that now belongs to the tribe

One saw me wearing the paint and wanted to be a part of the tribe. I hesitated because he did not know the weight of the ash. But I looked in his eyes and saw his face, saw the muscles in his neck and arms and chest and saw
that he gave consent
to be a commons for the tribe
because he saw the urgency

like a stranger that stops in the road
when you’re pleading for help
and he normally would have --------passed---------->

if it weren’t for the look in your (eye) | he stopped


you didn’t
say anything different

it was the



(silence)



that your eyes gave form to
that made him stop



some stop - .
some stare and
pass

many are familiar with this body,
and ask why it’s marked

I fumble, a feeble attempt to explain, to give form to the silence that is
(The undercurrent)
And soon I fall silent
When any attempt I give with words becomes pure blasphemy






And again, the silence is more penetrating than the words
(the warrior paint gives the best form)

And I wore it until it wore
The fire burned down to the last coals
Ash remnants faded to

w i s p s
(All things must pass)

I take the water, rub it over my skin. Shed what I’ve carried (now excess).
Again I’m reborn.
(the cycle)