From War Cry on a Prayer Feather, 1979, by Nancy Wood
I give to you this life
which is not the only life I have.
I am the forest living and dying.
I am the melancholy of falling leaves.
I am eternity in green.
I am water flowing strongly
Not in the lifetime of one man only
But down the rocks of generation
Across old deserts of humiliation
I run in anticipation toward the sea.
I give to you this life
which is the outer garment only.
I have clothed myself in riches
Sewn by hands in praise of home.
I am made of pollen and wings and bone.
I am wind reflected in moonlight.
I am ice crying out for food.
I am fire embedded in stone.
I am fields released by sun.
I give to you this life
claimed by what I do not own.