たっきの 笑い 啼き

When I look at ugliness,

NANCY WOODの　MANY WINTERSより

When I look at ugliness, I see beauty.
When I am far from home, I see my old friends.
When there is noise, I hear a robin's song instead.
When I am in a crowd, it is the mountain's peace I feel.
In the winter of my sorrow, I remember the summer of my joy.
In the nighttime of my loneliness, I breathe the day of my
thanksgiving.
But when sadness spreads its blanket and that is what I see,
I take my eyes to some high place until I find
A reflection of what lies deep inside of me.

The earth is all that lasts.

NANCY WOODの　MANY WINTERSより

The earth is all that lasts.
The earth is what I speak to when
I do not understand my life
Nor why I am not heard.
The earth answers me with the same song
That it sang for my fathers when
Their tears covered up the sun.
The earth sings a song of gladness.
The earth sings a song of praise.
The earth rises up and laughs at me
Each time that I forget
How spring begins with winter
And death begins with birth

Old Man Winter

NANCY　WOOD: Many Wintersより

Old Man Winter blew in on a cloud from the north
And lay down on the mountaintops
Covering them with snow.
His fingers reached down to the valleys below
Stealing the leaves from the trees.
His hands closed around the water
Gripping it with ice.
His breath roared out from his lips
Stopping all streams at their source.
The feet of Old Man Winter walked upon the earth
Freezing all the grass.
When he was through
Old Man Winter curled up and went to sleep.
Drawing into himself
All beasts
All land
All men.

You shall ask

Nancyさんの　詩集　MANY WINTERSから
今日は　YOU　SHALL ASK

You shall ask
What good are dead leaves
And I will tell you
They nourish the sore earth.
You shall ask
What reason is there for winter
And I will tell you
To bring about new leaves.
You shall ask
Why are the leaves so green
And I will tell you
Because they are rich with life.
You shall ask
Why must summer end
And I will tell you
So taht the leaves can die.

The Tree in Winter

from Nancy's Many Winters
☆☆☆

The tree in winter is like
The lines upon my father's face
Or like the paths I tried to take
When I was young searching
For one clear way to understanding.
In every branch I found
A smaller branch leading me
Toward many ends and many sorrows.
Too fragile to bear my weight,
All my branches broke
And I fell to the earth confused.
I saw the tree in winter
Reaching toward the sky
With bare branches tangled
Like so many paths and yet
Each path had a purpose,
Leading back to the roots of the tree.