My poet friend, Nancy Keck, is always inspired by her home in Northern Minnesota. In this dreamlike work, she ponders the eternal cycle of life and encourages us to remember our mothers and other women we have loved.
Meditation
I walked into a forest and looked over the sea
the Goddess came to me in memories of my mother, Jane
my grandmother, Margaret, my friend, Martina
all gone from me now, but their love still very much with me.
I asked the Goddess to heal my broken heart
to somehow smooth together the fractures of loss, of hopes mislaid, of dreams forgotten.
I gave to the Goddess a lilac, one stem of purple flowers,
the scent of spring , the image of my spirit
of my love for this earth, for this life
its beauty in brief and eternal time.
The Goddess gave me the hope of my dreams, the continuation of our family’s lineage
through my cherished daughter, Suzanne,
a tiny, perfect baby.
I kissed the baby’s fingers and held it tightly, yet gently
realization of Suzanne’s longing to become a mother
incarnation of my hope to become a grandmother
connection with my mother and grandmothers
link back through the women of our family
to the ancient rocks of England, to ancient Celtic spirits
to ancient voices singing through the waves of Lake Superior
through the branches of pines in the Northern forest
to the Northern Lights that danced all over the sky following my mother’s death.
watching the waves wash into the shore, then back out again.
One day those waves will carry my ashes, my spirit,
to join those of the women who have gone on before me
to become one with the Divine.
~Nancy Ronstrom Keck
(c) April 26, 2009
How do you remember and honor the women who have gone on before you?
