Word Experiment # 10 Spirit Animal




SPIRIT ANIMAL

In many religions and systems, a spirit animal or guide is said to be a representation of your skills and traits that you are supposed to learn or already have. It can also be a representation of who you are or what you want to be. It can also be your protector and in many cases a person may have more than one spirit animal. Who are yours?




Snakes

I can feel all of you writhing together
Pooling your heat
You are hot wires running through me
Electric as you cover
Your thin bodies wrapping themselves tightly
racing like wind to a wildfire
You are covering me in flame

Dangerous animals are fleeing these woods
as you turn figure eights
creating paths of orange and red
trails of yellow to black to ash

Heat escapes me as my temperature is rising

All my rusty pieces are melting down
Cauterizing forgotten wounds
Words I never had the courage to say
You are showing me how to shed my illusions
My limitation are falling to the wind like the cherry blossoms 

You are whispering to me
I hear you in a hiss

A kiss

A wave

A caress

Letting me know that now is time to let go
Time to open up both hands
for there is nothing left worth holding on to
except for myself

Theses walls I have built are melting
and I have outgrown this skin

I am shedding fear like all the years of lost lovers
that have forever slipped from these hand sewn covers

I am dancing past bodily sensations
No longer mortal,
for I have tasted death,
birth and again death

So I am bridging the gap between this world and that

I can not go back
I am forever changed

I can see through you
Your heart beating
A ruby gem the size of a fist


My hand no longer needs to be a fist

My mind is open
I am invisible
Invincible
I am close to the ground
Linked to the underworld
I hear every footstep
Every sound
I am the guardian of sacred spaces
the keeper of hidden knowledge
I take shape, I have many forms
I am the messenger
Elusive and uncontainable

Patiently, I will wait.

For we have much work to do
and you must be ready.


(I have 2 spirit animals a group of snakes and a polar bear that kinda hangs out in the background, he will get his own poem a little later, this was hard, again i feel like there maybe 2 poems in one. I really do need to learn how to edit.)

April 12, 2012 at 9:38 AM



Comments

M said…
Spirit Animal - Wolf

My exploring and wandering continues,
but the pack I loved is long-gone.
I licked their wounds, but they did not heal.

I alone have survived.
Now I’m on my own.
I’m my own leader.

But, sometimes the forest can barely contain my energy.
Other times I sulk, my head down, and peer through the trees;
always on my guard.

It can be dangerous here.

My coat bristles when strangers come too close.

My eyes hold their gazes, my ears point upward, and
one look at my fangs makes most of them scamper away.

My face is a natural mask of white, black, and grey; but
I’m adept at changing my facial expressions to match my mood.

The nights are spent curled up in a nest of dried leaves
which have fallen to the forest floor.

But some nights are sleepless, especially when the moon is full.

When the moon glows through the forest’s canopy
I rise and howl,
asking and waiting for an answer
that never comes
and for a mate who may not exist.

Still, I try.
Maybe someday my howls will be answered.
In the meantime, there’s nothing to do but go on.

It’s too late to find a new pack.
Other packs don’t take kindly to interlopers,

I’m no longer an innocent pup.

I remember the old pack;
how we gathered together,
how we protected each other,
our devotion and loyalty.

Nothing will ever be the same,
there's no one to tell my story,
and no one to love.


- I took a few different on-line quizzes to find out what my spirit animal is supposed to be, and the answer I got most often was wolf (the other result was a deer). The wolf result said: “You form deep connections with close friends and family members, and they know you'd do anything to protect them. You're loyal, devoted, and passionate.” The result for deer said: “You're artistic, creative, very compassionate, gentle, and kind. You like to delve into very complicated artistic activities such as drawing, sketching, or playing music. You're always there when a friend needs you.” Both spirit animals sounded pretty accurate for my personality, but I ended up going with wolf (I guess because my dog is a Siberian Husky). I thought I’d try to write from the perspective of a wolf who is the sole survivor of a pack that’s been killed off due to over-population. On the other hand, I don’t know any of any wolves who write poetry (laugh) - it's hard enough for me! Anyway, I can’t seem to do justice to “spirit animal,” but I think it was definitely worth the effort as an exercise in imagination.
April 8, 2012 at 8:56 PM
Holly Swan said…
A Butterfly's Kiss

A magical gift.
Its' wings enveloping my face. Covering my eyes so I can't see.
Sewing my lips closed with three sets of feet.
Staunching my breath.
I inhale desperately
in a panic.
The being is sucked into my mouth.
Powdered wings barricade my breath.
I've been chewing a piece of gum.
I push air from the back of my throat,
through the gum, and create a bubble
that envelopes the menacing insect.
I grasp the sac with two fingers.
It deflates as I pull it out.
Clinging, wet and flaccid, sticky and pink.
An esophagus sarcophagus as it were.
As I sneak to throw the appalling mass
into to trash,
my teacher encounters me, distressed.
Flustered, I try to tell her about my stone. and my story.
Shaking her head in disapproving understanding, she says
"Let this never happen again."
I hope I will not.


this was a dream I had about an ironic butterfly and a shaman. it need work, but it's what I've got...
April 9, 2012 at 5:40 AM
BT said…
I love this piece,The Tale of an Ironic Butterfly and a Shaman. I'm so glad to hear that this was just a dream, I was picturing the most horrible site of gum against butterfly wings and all the ungumming one would have to do. I love the feeling of this, it made me feel childlike, the way you'd get scolded at school or when someone you really look up to disapproves as well as the excitement of a butterfly landing on ones face. Really really well done. X
April 11, 2012 at 7:31 PM
BT said…
MWB - I always knew you were a wolf. Now it all makes sense. There is a lots of great imagery of this lone wolf's life. This part reminds me of the people you know as teens/kids, I never had such close ties to people like I did when I was a kid.

"I remember the old pack;
how we gathered together,
how we protected each other,
our devotion and loyalty.

Nothing will ever be the same,
there's no one to tell my story,
and no one to love."

x
April 11, 2012 at 7:44 PM
BT said…
Snakes

I can feel all of you writhing together
Pooling your heat
You are hot wires running through me
Electric as you cover
Your thin bodies wrapping themselves tightly
racing like wind to a wildfire
You are covering me in flame

Dangerous animals are fleeing these woods
as you turn figure eights
creating paths of orange and red
trails of yellow to black to ash

Heat escapes me as my temperature is rising

All my rusty pieces are melting down
Cauterizing forgotten wounds
Words I never had the courage to say
You are showing me how to shed my illusions
My limitation are falling to the wind like the cherry blossoms

You are whispering to me
I hear you in a hiss

A kiss

A wave

A caress

Letting me know that now is time to let go
Time to open up both hands
for there is nothing left worth holding on to
except for myself

Theses walls I have built are melting
and I have outgrown this skin

I am shedding fear like all the years of lost lovers
that have forever slipped from these hand sewn covers

I am dancing past bodily sensations
No longer mortal,
for I have tasted death,
birth and again death

So I am bridging the gap between this world and that

I can not go back
I am forever changed

Rearranged

but still I remain
Eyes open
Scales transparent
I can see through you
Your heart beating
A ruby gem the size of a fist

My hand no longer needs to be a fist

My mind is open
I am invisible
Invincible
I am close to the ground
Linked to the underworld
I hear every footstep
Every sound
I am the guardian of sacred spaces
the keeper of hidden knowledge
I take shape, I have many forms
I am the messenger
Elusive and uncontainable
I am balancing on both feet
Patiently, I will wait.

For we have much work to do
and you must be ready.


(I have 2 spirit animals a group of snakes and a polar bear that kinda hangs out in the background, he will get his own poem a little later, this was hard, again i feel like there maybe 2 poems in one. I really do need to learn how to edit.)
April 12, 2012 at 9:38 AM
BT said…
Once again I would like to thank everyone who participated this week, you are the best. Thanks again, I enjoy reading everyone work so much each week.
April 12, 2012 at 2:17 PM
M said…
BT - I was pretty fascinated to read that your spirit animal is a snake, but after I read your poem and then read more about snakes as spirit animals I could see how well it fits your personality. Then I also remembered how snakes are associated with healing and transformation (like how the snake is even a symbol in the medical field). So, yeah, this really suits you! The language in your poem is very good. One of my favorite parts is this: “All my rusty pieces are melting down / Cauterizing forgotten wounds / Words I never had the courage to say / You are showing me how to shed my illusions…” I love the imagery throughout, and really like the great comparison to a snake shedding its dead skin being like a human trying to heal their wounds and shedding their illusions. Another part I especially like is this: “Theses walls I have built are melting / and I have outgrown this skin…” One of my favorite parts is this:
“I am shedding fear like all the years of lost lovers
that have forever slipped from these hand sewn covers
I am dancing past bodily sensations
No longer mortal,
for I have tasted death,
birth and again death
So I am bridging the gap between this world and that
I cannot go back
I am forever changed
Rearranged
but still I remain…”
That’s extremely good. I love it. Then, the long section leading up to end is really good; it’s strong, confident, and shows patience, and resilience, and even a hint of vulnerability, it shows a real awareness of who you really are deep down and where you feel you are now in life:
“My hand no longer needs to be a fist
My mind is open
I am invisible
Invincible
I am close to the ground
Linked to the underworld
I hear every footstep
Every sound
I am the guardian of sacred spaces
the keeper of hidden knowledge
I take shape, I have many forms
I am the messenger
Elusive and uncontainable
I am balancing on both feet
Patiently, I will wait.
For we have much work to do
and you must be ready.”
This poem is simply full of great insights, the whole concept of knowing yourself. I think you’ve really captured all the qualities of a snake as a spirit animal, and tied it in so well with your own personality, outlook, and experiences – so I can definitely see what a good fit this is for you. Well done! I had to quote you a lot here (sorry about that!) because there’s so much in this poem that I like and I wanted to be specific. I kind of feel that things flow nicely just as they are in one poem, even though there’s enough material for 2 poems (I wish I had that problem!!). Now I want to hear about the polar bear as your other spirit animal, so you’ve got to write from that perspective when you get a chance!
April 15, 2012 at 10:50 AM
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