From Many Winters, 1974, by Nancy Wood
Old Woman,
It is you.
It was you even when
I did not see you except
In the eyes of my spirit.
Old Woman,
With you I saw
The dead log giving life
And the mid-winter stream
Rippling up for spring and
The mountains a long way off
Telling us of beginnings.
Old Woman,
With you I knew
The peace of high places
And the meaning of a flower
Curled up against the wind
Or leaning toward the sun.
Old Woman,
In small things always
There was you as if
All nature contained your thoughts and so
I learned from rocks and rainbows
Tall trees and butterflies.
Old Woman,
There was you in the eagle
Flying free and lonely
And in the eyes of a deer
I saw once in an untamed place.
Old Woman,
There is you in all good things
That awaken me and say
My life was richer, fuller
Because you lived with me.
