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.