I am calling you into my temple,
to the deep green forest,
where scattered light
gives way to shadow and moss.
Leave the asphalt and glass behind.
Leave the streetlights and sirens,
the busy bodies yelping
in the artificial light,
leave behind the hustling life,
the gristmill of the civilization grind.
Pad quiet between the trunks,
shrink beneath the ancient trees,
lope into the gloaming dark,
unhuman yourself with me,
let me teach you the religion
my body taught itself:
I am not a creature of reason.
I am not comfortable in my skin.
I am nature dreaming of itself,
an animal prayer, a hungry spirit:
I am a mouthful of howling,
I am teeth and I am blood,
I eat the earth until the earth eats me,
I know this is a ragged ritual,
this prayer to animaling,
this is not the first time
I have tried to explain
this shaggy holiness.
Go back if you want
but leave my wolf body
here on the dirt,
ring me with wildflowers
and river pebbles,
let the ants have me,
until my pelt is eaten up
and my bones bleach white in the air.
Enshrine me to my wild worship.
— Adam Kamerer
Behind The Scenes
