A Windigo wind blows across the land,
warning us that we have been taking
more than we need,
and putting nothing back.
It is trying to tell us
we need to go back
to the Old Times,
when man and nature
lived in harmony,
and no action was taken
without consideration for
the seventh generation.
A big black wolf is wandering
through my dreams and through my heart,
wolf spirit,
Windigo of the wolf clan,
howling a lament
at the destruction
of his habitat,
the starvation of his young,
the extinction
of his tribe.
I am swimming a wide river,
farther than I have
the strength to go,
when, under me,
lifts the body of a great turtle,
who supports me to
the farther shore.
I am lost at sea in a thick fog
and cannot find home
when a pod of killer whales,
sensing my distress telepathically,
encircles my boat
and guides me to shore,
to my own dock,
then glides silently
into the night
and away.
Nature tries to help us.
Creatures show us the way.
But in our noise and clamor,
in the tumult of our souls,
we cannot hear them.
The forest is deep and dark,
and there are spirits here.
I look, and look again,
and all the trees are rearranged.
Shapeshifters, shadows,
flit from tree to tree,
and a mournful Windigo wind
sings through the branches.
Owl, Oracle, Guardian,
protect me as I go.
A poem from 2013, shared with the Poetry Pantry at Poets United.
* In the film, The Great Wind, Windigo, punishes a young man for his greed, for wanting more than he needs. Wikipedia describes a Windigo as a legend of the Algonquin people, a cannabalistic spirit that can possess humans in times of famine and who is to be guarded against.
The event with the killer whales really happened to an inspiring woman I met once, who lives among the whales in Simoon Sound. Alexandra Morton has dedicated her life to the well being of the whales and to raising the alarm about how fish farms endanger wild salmon habitat.
Humankind had not only been unfair but unperturbed at the attrition or wanton destruction of nature. Nature on the other hand had been helpful perhaps clamoring for a voice of support. Very true Sherry!
ReplyDeleteHank
Wow, wonderful writing. As Hank says, we are not only unaware but actively destructive. If only we could go back to our earlier understanding!
ReplyDeleteI hear the voice of the speaker and the melody..humanity is possessed..feel the ache..
ReplyDeleteWondeful writing, Sherry......
ReplyDeleteThe forest is deep and dark,
and there are spirits here.
I look, and look again,
and all the trees are rearranged.
Shapeshifters, shadows,
flit from tree to tree,
and a mournful Windigo wind
sings through the branches.......love the image too.
It's amazing how the forest and the sea come alive in your poem..shapeshifting trees, wind and turtles...all moving before my eyes.
ReplyDeleteThe forest is deep and dark,
ReplyDeleteand there are spirits here.
I look, and look again,
and all the trees are rearranged.
Shapeshifters, shadows,
flit from tree to tree,
and a mournful Windigo wind
sings through the branches.
Sigh.. such vivid images here, I can almost picture the scene 💖 Beautifully penned.
Lots of love,
Sanaa
How apt this is Sherry as here in Australia they are thinking of drilling the Great Australian Bight for oil where whales overwinter and have their calves. Curiously I also wrote a poem posted elsewhere on the subject this weekend.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting before i read the postscript I saw the Windigo wind as an overseer both wise and protective of its chicks.. maybe wise guardians require wise followers
ReplyDeleteIf we respect our environment, things will be better indeed. we ourselves would be better humans. There is a lot of anguish in your gentle poet voice
ReplyDeletehappy Sunday Sherry
much love...
Nature has been abused for so long, but luckily there are wise voices who speak up...
ReplyDeleteI do love the sense that nature is trying to help us... maybe it only takes to listen and act to make things good again.. we have done it before actually.
ReplyDeleteYou never fail to amaze! Thank you Sherry!
ReplyDeleteYour work always speaks to me Sherry! Lovely!!!
ReplyDeleteI got 3 messages in 1 poem. These messages unite to give a a reader the final thought. Well done
ReplyDeleteNature does try to guide us as do the creatures of the land. If only we would listen. There are spirits there and they watch and wait.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you brought this one out to share.
In classical poems the nature always punish those who destroy the balance on planet. Your poem and supporting resources - such a stella to bridge between past and future, remembering to respect the wildlife in present. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWe are so lost from our true selves and you word and image it so brilliantly here Sherry. I fear for the future of the earth and its creatures...bkm
ReplyDeleteYou've nailed it again, Sherry: another one of your lovely pieces embracing nature and heralding the cause of environmentalism. I,too, believe that there are spirits in the forests. Lately I have come across a number of studies that have empirical evidence that trees - TREES !!! - possess a number of qualities that most people do not credit them with - including feelings. Fascinating stuff! It does give one pause. If trees can feel pain - what of the forest creatures?
ReplyDeleteTrees CAN and do feel pain and fear, Wendy. And the forest creatures feel all that we feel - love of life, happiness, fear, terror, struggle, hunger, a struggle to survive. Sigh.I know that studies have shown that water changes its molecular structure in response to emotions, whether positive or negative. And I saw a plant once shudder with fear when my kids, playing a game, screamed right beside it. I had to mist it with water and soothe it. Truth.
ReplyDeleteit is human voices like yours that must be spoken must be heard incessantly and continuously, like a mantra blowing in with the Windigo Wind. my soul is constantly singing this mantra sharing it with the Lakota and all its other brother and sister tribes presently in North Dakota. the distractions to the potential human cost to society because of one of our political candidates south of the border from you has disrupted my inner song because of the disturbance. this is wonderful mi amiga. sing on, let us 'all' here your voice.
ReplyDeleteSherry, this is a potent warning. At first, since I am not familiar with Windigo, I thought perhaps you created the character from the Wind of change and the ancient color, indigo. The situation with tribal peoples in Dakota is certainly on my mind as I read this. Human greed seems to know no bounds in the US, and the same seems to be the case in Canada - despite your winning the Prime Minister derby in so many ways, Trudeau being marvelous, and we USers faced with the prospect of an orange algae bloom as our leader!!! Love this, and thx for stopping by. Amy
ReplyDeleteYour poem leaves me breathless...and wanting to be lifted on a turtle's back, or to be soaring with an eagle...
ReplyDeletethe cloud darkens, doesn't it, Sherry? ~
ReplyDeleteAnother exceptional work of 'art' in your prose.
ReplyDeleteI was right there, with you at all times! So vivid a picture you create.