The Path – January 2020

From Shaman’s Circle, 1996, by Nancy Wood

 

Whatever you become, my child, may it be rooted in grace.

Whatever your path through life,

may it offer you steepness and rough places, so that you do not become

complacent. Nothing is owed to you, but everything is available to you,

 

Even the decision to do nothing and to travel nowhere.

It’s up to you to decide

whether to follow the wisdom of our ancestors, or to pursue

the cheap solutions of the world. Your courage will arise

 

If you call it by name, just as love will find its way into your heart, in time.

My child, I cannot shoulder your mistakes

in order to keep you free from pain,

but I can open your eyes to beauty, if you will only take the time.

Joined – December 2019

From Shaman’s Circle, 1996, by Nancy Wood

 

Our connection to nature is nothing more

than a deep conversation,

like that between two related stones or trees,

an expanding bond of kinship

that sharpens perceptions and catches

sunlight devouring ice on streams,

a refrain of winter’s resistance

To the unconditional surrender of spring.

 

Who knows the meaning behind a conversation

between two partners of the soul,

so perfectly joined that they seem as natural

as veins on leaves? Our connection

to nature is a magical cord that offers solace,

granting us witness to the birth of stars.

Woman-Heart Spirit – November 2019

From Dancing Moons, 1995, by Nancy Wood

 

The woman-heart spirit was released by the Creator

a long time ago in order to nurture children,

animals and plants, trees and rocks, and also

men, who resisted the softening of their wild nature.

 

The woman-heart spirit roamed the deserts and the mountains

looking for ways to create awareness,

the food the earth needed for survival,

and the recognition of beauty in the land.

 

The woman-heart spirit was wild, untamed

like the river and the wind

who taught her knowledge of a certain kind,

different from the knowledge of men or children.

 

The woman-heart spirit became the guardian

of language and music and the stories

needed by birds and animals and people, as

the world changed and imagination dried up.

 

The woman-heart spirit became the keeper of compassion,

strong yet invisible, the connection between

all living things. The woman-heart spirit

is nothing more than love, overlooked when the world began.

I remember you when – October 2019

From Many Winters, 1974, by Nancy Wood

 

I remember you when

The tame rose sleeps

Between the jaws of winter.

I remember you when

The humming insects mother

The newborn leaves of spring.

I remember you when

The argument of frogs becomes

The laughing song of summer.

I remember you when

I hear my corn begin to grow

And beauty crowds my life.

Who speaks for animals who cannot talk? – September 2019

From War Cry on a Prayer Feather, 1979, by Nancy Wood

 

Who speaks for animals who cannot talk?

Who sees for flowers which are blind?

Who guards the river which has but one course?

Who represents the mountain in time?

Who comes here to argue for the life of beavers?

Who will tell of the importance of snails?

Who has seen the mantis shed his skin?

Who believes in butterfly wings?

I am nature’s advocate

Ten million birds

Ten million trees

Ten million animals

Ten million fish

Are mine.

I will fight you in this room

And out of it.

I will dare you to define

Progress

On the face of a dime.