Madronna Holden

With the power of poetry, we access the extraordinary in the ordinary—locate the place where natural lives speak to us of our potential for presence in this life.

One of my seminal memories is standing in the fields with my grandfather to listen to the corn grow. Alongside him I lived in the lyrical world – the world that was fundamentally alive with voices of its own – from earliest age. His grandmother was a renowned shaman in Bohemia who gained her power, in my mother’s words, by “speaking with the earth”.  In this tradition, the word nature connoted affirmation, inevitability, and spirit as the ultimate source of all power and of all tenderness.  This tradition resonates with the other elders of place-based cultures who have blessed me with their words throughout my decades of life on earth.  (I am currently a retired university teacher).

One of my indigenous teachers noted that a person lucky enough to have grandparents would “know something”.  Thus we may be blessed both by the nurturance of our human ancestors—as I have been—and our more-than-human ancestors– as we all are.  The latter, who have long preceded us on our planet, have much to teach us in the way of all good elders about beauty, power, and our place in this life.

Our green allies feed us physically, emotionally, and spirituality:  they are the foundation of our ability to be present to the language of life—and as a poet, I work to reciprocate such gifts in my human way witnessing and celebrating them with words.