Chantico’s Way
“Feed your fire!”
Says Chantico
Never missing a beat
Pouring scalding tea from her open palms into stone kettles and brick teacups
Slicing into our pie with hot swords
I moved from room to room in her home
House to house in her village
“Break ritual to build ritual”
Someone is handing me a hot sweet potato
Someone is handing me powdered sage
I eat.
“Your healing has been mishandled”
Chantico speaks.
“What is therapy for you, is buried under taboo”
Someone is rinsing my hair
A jaguar is anointing my scalp
I learn to read stars
And flames
I practice scrying into flames
I see my great-grandmother there
Taking gallant strides across the wick
Speaking to me in sparks and flickers
They gift me a dog
I wake up at home
Wiser about what protection means.