It begins like a rite
A faint tightening of breath
A hush settling over the bones
As if the body remembers
An old instruction
The air arranges itself
Light withdraws to the corners
A stillness gathers deliberate
The way a temple gathers silence
Before an unseen God enters
My apprehension steps forward
With ceremonial patience
A figure robed in frost
Its presence marked
By the slow extinguishing
Of warmth
It traces a circle around me
Not to trap
But to consecrate
A boundary drawn
In cold intention
I feel it anoint my sternum
With its glacial touch
A blessing or a warning
I cannot tell
Only that it knows me
And has known me
Longer than breath
Some nights it chants
Through the marrow
A low vibration
That turns the dark
Into a chamber of initiation
Tonight it stands before me
Waiting for the moment
I lower my head
And acknowledge
What has already begun
The quiet ceremony
Of fear becoming form