Gracias Volcán Acatenango

The earth shakes violently,

There is a huge explosion,

The taste of sulphur in the air,

Bolts of lightening fill the night sky,

Thunder cracks,

Torrential rain pours down,

Lava spills out illuminated the dark,

Hyperesthesia hits our senses,

And then silence, an eerie stillness

As we exhale and catch our breathe

The magnitude of what just unfolded sinks in

Ferocious, raw, catastrophic

Feeling the power

As the buoyant magma leaves its chamber and rises to the surface

In an explosive eruption of lava, rock, ash and embers

Imminent danger to anything in the vicinity

Journeying back to a time when this earth

Was nothing but fire and red

A friction of colliding material

A spinning molten mass

Despite their reputation as a dangerous and destructive force

Volcanoes are crucial to the development of life on earth

Without this we would not be here

Much of the Earths waters would have remained under the mantle

The atmosphere would be unbreathable

And evolution as we know it, could not have happened

I see the reflection of my own inner quest

Deep below the surface

Beneath the mind and the fears

Protecting the heart

Eruptions of memories and emotions

That lay dormant, deep in their chambers

Releasing the tension

Restoring the equilibrium

What an incredible night

Sleeping in the elements

Weathering the storm

To witness an opening in the Earth’s crust

A gift to be reminded

Of the ferocity, fragility, evolution and beauty

It is a miracle we are here

Gracias Volcán Acatenango