A Time of Transition

At Prairiewoods, we are going through a time of great change. This transitional period can rock us or make us rock-strong. When your small staff of 16 is suddenly down three members, as ours is at Prairiewoods, it feels like a lot of change all at once. And that change can feel anxiety-inducing. However, it…

Telling the Land

I often talk with the Prairiewoods Land, in my own way. Not so much in human words, but with footsteps and breath. With the occasional wow and ah-ha, spoken in surprised delight. I’ve just seen the white buds of wild rose—a new development. I’ve stepped on forest ground, softened by moles and I feel the…

“We Don’t Talk About (You-Know …) Bruno, No-No-No!”

Humanity needs a break! Having endured the collective traumas of a protracted pandemic, geo-political discord, global upheaval from climate change, the Sixth Great Extinction, massive military conflicts that threaten fragile efforts at “peace,” terrorism, genocide, racism, sexism, misogyny, xenophobia, hate-driven crimes, eco-cide, and socio-cultural and religious melt-downs, we ALL need a break. We need a collective…

Exquisite Gift

The Women of Interfaith Dialogue group gathered virtually for the season of spring. I wrote this poem for the occasion—with great appreciation for Creation’s gift of flowers! Which of your senses are you appreciating the most today? Maybe try writing a poem about it? EXQUISITE GIFT Oh, the palette of petals, the multitudes of flowers,…

Grace and Patience

“When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the…

The Sparrows Sing Their Spring Song

I write this poem in memory of the friends that the Prairiewoods community has lost. THE SPARROWS SING THEIR SPRING SONG The sparrows sing their morning sun song from the soon-to-be-greening boughs. This day, though, breaks without you— our hearts are aching with sorrow. Then, a soft flicker and flutter of feathers— the sparrows rise…