8"x17"x12" abaca, kozo, antler, quartz, pigment by Mattie O. Rose
The thrum of her wild heart
is the barely whispered stir
of the forest canopies above
through branches and boughs
the pungent aroma of pine in warm sunlight
filters its way down to her bare feet
her reverie barely disturbed
by the surprising flap
of the raven’s jet wings
she is the first-born daughter
of her Mother the Earth
She is herself a skilled weaver
the realm she conceived
spun from sharp longing
shaped from love and strange dreams
stitched together from her thoughts
born from stillness and passion
a patient work of timeless art
that breathes in and out with the wind
The Creatrix rests against her perch
of shed antlers
running her hands
over their rough certainty
waiting patiently for her true love
she hums the melody
of their courtship dance
like the great blue herons
a ritual and ceremony
as old as time
2022 Karen Stuth