Sacred Poetry

Dolmen

     A dolmen is a stone structure that was used as a tomb about 5000 years ago during 3000 BC. It consists of a large, horizontal slab of stone that is supported by a few other stone slabs of equal size. A dolmen is known for its primary purpose of serving as a tomb to bury the dead, as the remains of many people were found under or near these structures. However, they were also often used for a spiritual reason as well. Several phenomena of earth such as multi-colored light and spontaneous flames that appear near fault lines. Although these strange earth lights can be explained with modern science, in ancient times, it would have been no different from magic. Due to this, many shamans and other religious figures worked to construct dolmens near these strange lights. Once created, they would enter these spiritual realms of abstract earth energies in order to be in an environment that would suit their need to be in a state of timeless consciousness. They would make an effort to do this in order to connect with themselves and their ancestors which were thought to be found in these lights.

3 stanza/4 lines each

Belief in spiritual realm- are the gods capricious (unpredictable)?
Close ties to geography
Prescientific worldview
Concern with survival
Propitiation: incantations, shamans, liturgy
Concern about death
Moral systems: things become taboo, social mores are established, totems created
Theology
Scripture
Prophecy
Sacrifice
Designated place of worship

Oh great and wise ancestors and gods
I call upon thee for aid
How can it be that the little people that run amongst me
Will soon grow as tall as trees and must take on the world

The future of our civilization lies
not in the lives of the present
but of those in the past and the future

For we, the shamans, must pray to the ancestors
who have ascended to the gods
And the grown men and women of the future
must take care of those on their path to the same destination as well

So when the time comes for me to fall
I pray, I pray, and I pray
Everyday as I stay dedicated, solitary, and stationary within this dolmen
That so it can be that when I am laid to rest in these stone confines
I may rise to the heavens and join my ancestors
And the children may rise and continue the cycle of life