Presenting the poetry, books, and photographs of Nancy Wood, 1936-2013
Be a warrior of small wars
Accustomed to small praise
For honesty and do not fight
For the sake of attainment.
Build a house of solid thoughts
A fortress of introspection
Feed and shelter all who enter
Protect and not possess them.
You must not be afraid to travel
where there are no roads.
You must not give in to the darkness
when there is no sign of light.
You must not be afraid to grow wings
when you are tired of the ground.
You must not be afraid to swim
when you are nothing but a stone.
If experience is the child born of risk, then
acceptance is the old man born of dreams.
I am all things, connected to all time and all places.
I am the undernourished bones of aged men.
I am the new blood of unborn babies.
I am a virgin searching for a lover.
I am a seed, waiting to become corn. I am ancient Fire,
cleansing the ravaged Earth. I am Ice, begging for
replenishment. I am all things, connected to
all animals and birds. See me running with buffalo?
See me soaring with eagles? What they are, I am.
Where they go, I have been before.
When they die, a part of me dies also.
When they are born, my life begins anew.
Out of stone-cold earth, I have become a flame.
My horse took me down the life-giving road
Drawing his breath as he went
His breath of strong spirit
His breath of power to plow and to pull.
But now he is old
And his breath is of feathers and corn.
I add to his breath
The breath of my own
And pray to his old age of riches.