Some of us were blessed and graced with a retreat in BC a couple weeks ago. Afterward Hayra and Murad Phil and Helen stopped in the Methow valley on the way home. Hayra sent this beautiful poem to me.
From sister Hayra:
Dear Community,
Returning from our annual Dance Retreat at Johnson’s Landing, BC, we always are blessed with a loving and gentle re-entry in the rolling nearly-naked contours of the Methow.
Here is a new poem that one of our hosts read to us, last week.
Rhoda used to live in Seattle and now lives outside of Winthrop. This poem is just one of the expressions of her deep Elderhood Wisdom. She can be reached at <rhodaw@methownet.com>
The Snag Speaks
By Rhoda Walter, June 2019
Look at me.
Don’t look away.
I have shed my skin.
My branches are bare.
My arms are akimbo.
No needles grace me.
I no longer give off a divine scent on a hot summer day.
Look at me now, as I am, not as I was when I was a Ponderosa queen.
Take me as I am – naked, open.
I am being fully who I am, no more, no less.
No hint of shame at my current condition or my current role.
I’m just here, giving.
A perch for birds, a meal of beetles, a home for woodpeckers.
A sentinel, a witness, a source of inspiration for you.
I know I am officially dead
But I still live, just in a different way.
I am surrendered to my stage in life.
One day I will lose another arm, and then another.
Someday, I will no longer be able to stand.
I will tumble down the hill and no longer grace the skyline.
Who will fall first? You or me? Does it matter?
I will be who I am, accepting my destruction, the rot, the invasions, the stripping away.
No worries, I will be me through all the phases to come.
Will you?