Love – Page 3 – Nancy Wood Literary Trust

Solitude – March 2015

This poem reminded Nancy’s daughter Kate of the solitude Nancy needed to write her books.

Do not be afraid to embrace the arms

of loneliness.

Do not be concerned with the thorns

of solitude.

Why worry that you will miss something?

Learn to be at home with yourself

without a hand to hold.

Learn to endure isolation

with only the stars for friends.

Happiness

comes from understanding unity.

Love

arrives on the footprints of your fear.

Beauty

arises from the ashes of despair.

Solitude

brings the clarity of still waters.

Wisdom

completes the circle of your dreams.

Here is an unusual love poem by Nancy, chosen for February, the month of Valentine’s Day.

The Great Spirit made hands before he made

eyes or feet, so people could learn to hold

one another. Hands were useful for touching

the hard ribs of trees or the soft tongues of flower petals.

Hands discovered the dry uncertainty of snakes, the

slipperiness of fish, the mystery of feathers. Hands found

Other hands and clasped together to embrace the oncoming world,

unafraid. Two pairs of hands, burned by fire and cooled

by water, felt their way along unfamiliar paths and then

reached out and found they needed one another

to make a home in the wilderness of their minds.

This poem was chosen by India Wood, Nancy’s daughter, in honor of Mother’s Day.

A woman’s lesson is a simple lesson:
Whatever life asks, answer with love.

A woman’s lesson is a wise lesson:
Whenever conflict threatens, go forth in harmony.

A woman’s lesson is an enduring lesson:
Whatever is taken from you, give back in generosity.

A woman’s lesson is a gradual lesson:
Whenever there is a storm, remain a calm center.

A woman’s lesson is a courageous lesson:
Whenever there is despair, sow the seed of hope.

A woman’s lesson is a practical lesson:
Wherever there is dryness, go and get the rain.