Issue 15
Summer 2003
Barbara Spring
Barbara Spring’s new book of poetry, The Wilderness Within, was released August 1, 2003. The poems flow from the natural world, myths, travels and a mysterious place. There are a few travel essays that complement certain poems in the book as well as some black and white pictures.
She also wrote The Dynamic Great Lakes a non fiction book for the general public. It is about changes in the Great Lakes and what people might do to improve these sweetwater seas.
She lives with her husband and dog near the shore of Lake Michigan.
http://www.geocities.com/barbaraspring/index
Shaman
His long thin braids have deerskin fringes.
He wears silver and turquoise talismans.
Sacred datura, ceremonies,
sweat lodges, let him see
several worlds with eyes
that penetrate the darkness of caves
in canyon walls
where many old ones are lain.He knows worlds within worlds
from Utah to Viet Nam
where village elders tell similar stories.The Paiute shaman knows
guiding spirits will emerge
in the end when
fires and floods ravage
this world.Then red haired guides
will take us by our hands
as we walk into time and space
and lead us out.Leave Them in Peace
Canyon winds through bristle cone pines
condors soar below
ancient people laid in caves
a mystery to us now.Leave their bones in peace
their split twig bighorn sheep
clay pots, spears
spirals incised in stone
petroglyphs of antlered dancers.Spirits from the other world
swirl in vermilion rocks
deepest indigo,
black and white.
You must not go
to these holy places
where canyon winds blow.In the time it took our spiral galaxy
to turn once around
Grand Canyon formed.The ancient ones knew its worth and
what it was for.