Knowing the Earth - May 2018
From Spirit Walker, 1993, by Nancy Wood
To know the Earth on a first-name basis
You must know the meaning of river stones first.
Find a place that calls to you and there
Lie face down in the grass until you feel
Each plant alive with the mystery of beginnings.
Move in a circle until you discover an insect
Crawling with knowledge in its heart.
Examine a newborn leaf and find a map of a universe
So vast that only Eagles understand.
Observe the journey of an ant and imitate its path
Of persistence in a world of bigger things.
Borrow a cloud and drift high above the Earth,
Looking down at the smallness of your life.
The journey begins on a path made of your old mistakes.
The journey continues when you call the Earth by name.
The Fire of Life - April 2018
From Sacred Fire, 1998, by Nancy Wood
Every day I bathe myself in light
and write my name in stars across the sky.
Every day I am the Fire of Life, burning
with the intensity of the Sun. The Wind cannot
blow away such passion, nor can Rain drown
the ash of love, knowing it will burn again.
Every day I bathe myself in light and dance
to the music that rivers make on their
way to the sea. The Earth hears my prayers
and gives my body a familiar form,
feminine in nature, strong and surviving.
Every day I write my name
in stars across the Universe: I am love.
The power of my flame
rises with the fury of my dreams.
Animal Wisdom - March 2018
From Sacred Fire, 1998, by Nancy Wood
At first, the wild creatures were too busy
to explore their natural curiosity until
Turtle crawled up on land. He said:
What's missing is the ability
to find contentment in a slow-paced life.
As the oceans receded, fish sprouted whiskers.
Certain animals grew four legs and were able
to roam from shore to shore. Bear stood
upright and looked around. He said:
What's missing is devotion
to place, to give meaning to passing time.
Mountains grew from fiery heat, while
above them soared birds, the greatest
of which was Eagle, to whom penetrating
vision was given. He said: What's missing
is laughter so that arguments
can be resolved without rancor.
After darkness and light settled their
differences
and the creatures paired up,
people appeared in all the corners of
the world. They said: What's missing
is perception. They began to notice
the beauty hidden
in an ordinary stone,
the short lives of snowflakes,
the perfection of bird wings, and
the way a butterfly speaks
through its fragility. When they realized
they had something in common with animals,
people began saying the same things.
They defended the Earth together,
though it was the animals who insisted
on keeping their own names.
Women, You Must Learn to Be Warriors - February 2018
From Spirit Walker, 1993, by Nancy Wood
Women, you must learn to be warriors
Now when times are dark and our men
Are afraid to tell us what is in their hearts.
There is so much trouble in our land
That it is up to you to decide
Which direction the wind must blow.
Women, you are our tree of life
Just as you were a long time ago
When a man said: carry my seed.
If you go forth from this darkness,
Telling our story of courage and survival,
Then our tree will grow strong with your words.
Women, do not worry about tomorrow.
Even when daylight is long in coming,
The sun remembers its place in the sky.
Take this blue shawl of knowledge and
Wrap it around your daughters, telling them
That women must not be afraid to be warriors.
Nancy Wood Poem Posters at Innisfree in Boulder
Please stop by the Innisfree Poetry Bookstore and Cafe on University Hill in Boulder, CO! Eight poem broadsheets of Nancy's poetry and photographs are on display for a couple weeks in January-February 2018.
Special thanks to Brian Buckley and Kate Hunter, owners of Innisfree and our wonderful neighbors to the north.
Broadsheet design by Vicki Hopewell
Nancy Wood poem and photograph selection by India Wood