From Many Winters, 1974, by Nancy Wood
When daylight shuts her eyes And the sky is fast asleep, The moon comes up with half a face And the stars put holes in the night.
Poems
Why the Earth Spat Fire – August 2022
When the Earth calmed down
from the long agony
of her waterless birth,
She spat Fire, and certain possibilities emerged.
The bones of animals,
the fins of unborn fish, and
the blood of scavenger birds
Were waiting for shadows to become durable
and for dust to recognize gravity.
From the ash of Earth’s spent energy
cooling moss crept forward.
Seas of salt ate up shorelines, and
rock defined the essential boundaries
Of ancestry. Fire devoured
land to make it habitable.
All along the shores and deserts
and mountaintops, everything
developed eyes and hearts
until Fire was finally satisfied.
Changing – July 2022
From Shaman’s Circle, 1996, by Nancy Wood
The life I shared with you was filled with flowers,
but even flowers fade, as do rainbows
and the smiles we used to share. Remember?
Our paths were joined for our chosen time
and together we grew stronger than we
would have grown alone. But now, my love,
I must go beyond this place we shared together,
to a destination still unknown. My heart is
filled with love and sorrow, joy and anticipation.
Our common journey taught us to value one another’s causes,
just as it opened the door to our individual claims. I do not
love you less for deserting our common path, for the memory
of each step is what sustains me as I grope toward higher ground.
Oh, my love, I thank you for never letting go of my hand.
The Shortest Day/The Longest Day – June 2022
From Shaman’s Circle, 1996, by Nancy Wood
December 21
O sun, the father of us all, maker of ripe flowers, creator
of fat corn, return this day to our part of the shrinking sky.
Your journey to the south is now complete and we pray to you
to remember the drear, dark days of winter caught between
Your strong fingers struggling to release the earth from sleep. In this
long gasp of icy silence, all creatures find renewal, a pale hope
That spring will not forget to come this year, nor will birds forget to lay eggs
heavy with the yolk of generation.
June 21
Now the earth lies panting in the rich blood of summer, and you are content,
O sun, father of full orchards and the restlessness of elk. We observe
Your deep shadows and hear the laughter of leaves green with continuity,
but we are not deceived by the smoothness of our ripe landscape.
Even the longest day contains the seeds of winter and on the wind we hear
the song that icicles sing to stay awake. The longest day is merely
A pause between the places where our lives are lived, and in its fullness
we dance for the right of bumblebees to gather distant honey.
Book Released May 16! The Selected Poems of Nancy Wood
The Nancy Wood Literary Trust has published My Help Is in the Mountain: The Selected Poems of Nancy Wood. Order your copy on Amazon today. Search for “Nancy Wood nature poetry”.
This book gathers legendary Southwestern author Nancy Wood’s most enduring poems about divine nature, the strength of women, love, family, and loss.
Praise for Spirit Walker: “This beautiful volume provides serenity, contemplation, and spiritual richness, experiences that are all too rare in this clamorous age.” –School Library Journal
Praise for Sacred Fire: “Wood writes affectingly about the interconnectedness of the people and the natural world, about the Sacred Fire that symbolizes their spirit, about the demon of progress, and about the need to strengthen the things that remain.” –Booklist