A poem for Paqos

This poem is borrowed from one of my teachers Joan Parisi Wilcox who made her own translation from one of her students (source, january 25, 2020: https://qentiwasi.com/2019/12/29/a-poem-for-paqos/)

The wise old woman said:

If you come to me as a victim, I will not support you.
But I will have the courage to walk with you through the pain you are suffering.
I will put you to the fire, I will strip you, and I will sit you on the earth.
I will bathe you with herbs, purge you, and vomit the anger and darkness inside you.
I will strike your body with healing herbs, and place you on the grass, looking up to the sky.
I will blow into your forehead to scare away the thoughts that cloud your vision.
I will blow into your throat to untie the knot that won’t let you speak.
I will blow into your heart to chase away the fear, so that it goes so far away it can never again find you.
I will blow into your solar plexus to extinguish the hell-fire within you, and you will
know peace.
I will blow with fire into your belly to burn away attachments, the love that was not.
I will blow away the lovers who left you, the children that never were.
I will blow into your heart to warm you, to rekindle your desire to feel, create, and begin again.
I will blow with force into your energy centers to clean the sexual door of your soul.
I will throw away the garbage you collected trying to love what did not want to be loved.
I will use a broom, sponge, and rag to safely clean all the bitterness inside you.
I will blow on your hands to destroy the bonds that prevent you from creating.
I will blow on your feet to remove the dust and erase the memories of the tracks, so that you can never return to that bad place.
I will turn your body over so your face will kiss the earth.
I will blow on your spinal column from root to neck to increase your strength and
help you walk upright.
And I will let you rest.
After this you will cry, and after crying you will sleep.
And you will dream beautiful and meaningful dreams.
And when you wake up, I will be waiting for you.
I will smile at you, and you will smile back.
I will offer you food, and you will eat with pleasure, savoring life, and I will thank you.
Because what I am offering you today, I was once offered, when the darkness lived
in me.
And after I was healed, I felt the darkness leave,
And I cried.