When we die, we become what we always were: everything. That is why Taliesin, the original Celtic Shaman, sang:
"I have been a speckled snake on the hill,
I have been a viper in Llyn.
I have been a bill-hook crooked that cuts..."
Nancy Wood was an American poet who spent many years living alongside the Indians on the Pueblo, absorbing their ways of seeing the world. Her poetry is inspired by the Pueblo. You could say this is a metaphysical love poem:
A long time I have lived with you
And now we must be going
Separately to be together.
Perhaps I shall be the wind
To blur your smooth waters
So that you do not see your face too much.
Perhaps I shall be the star
To guide your uncertain wings
So that you have direction in the night.
Perhaps I shall be the fire
To separate your thoughts
So that you do not give up.
Perhaps I shall be the rain
To open up the earth
So that your seed may fall.
Perhaps I shall be the snow
To let your blossoms sleep
So that you may bloom in spring.
Perhaps I shall be the stream
To play a song on the rock
So that you are not alone.
Perhaps I shall be a new mountain
So that you always have a home.
