Tonight I read the poem Old Woman by Nancy Wood and after reading I wanted to bring to life my "Old Woman"
She is not pretty, refined or genteel. She is not gentle or soft. Rather she is raw, she has stared into the abyss and she has survived. She knows she has strength and that she holds ancient power embedded in her bones. She is of both fire and ice. This is my 'Old Woman"
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.~Nancy Wood, 1995