LIVING BETWEEN by Tracie Nichols

It feels like I’m a woman living in the land of between...

At nearly 53, I’m feeling my Crone self yearning her wild and hoary way to the forefront. Yet, my Mother self is still planting her staff determinedly at the head of my life.

I’m a mother with two teen children still living their half-child/half-adult lives at home. This morning I was wrenched from my crone-wild dreams by the flu-hoarse voice of my son asking if he could miss school.

I bumped back into my soft, round, Mother body before all of me realized what was happening. Then stumbled through the morning, dispensing love and remedies, phoning schools and canceling appointments with a disgruntled Crone grumbling in the background.

As Demeter and Hecate tussle for primacy, I’m left feeling unsettled. Unsure. Caught in the middle. Ping-ponging between two phases of my life. Usually I negotiate edges well. But this one? This one not so much. So, of course, I wrote about it.

Living Between

by Tracie Nichols

In the space of a breath,

my wild-flashing

crone soul

careens still,

and in slips

the soft mother,

gentle warrior,

fierce child shielder.

A two-sounded whisper,

in a voice familiar,

that's all it takes

to ground

my pestle.

To tame my

furious-beating

heart,

wind-streaming

hair.

In the space of a

breath,

when wild woman

sleep

falls away

broken

by the word

"Mom"

croaked

from the throat

of my suffering

child.

Tracie Nichols has written poetry since she was 11 years old. While most of her early works are gone (this is probably a good thing) she continues to scribble poems at odd hours about everything from the state of her soul to the sounds of her kitchen. In truth, though, her poetic heart belongs to the deep green places of our wildly, fiercely, sacred, earth. When she isn’t making poetry with words she’s listening to the whispers of the green world, making alchemy with plants and stones and moonlight wildness. Tracie blogs, shares resources and generally nurtures at her website here. Connect with her also on Twitter or Facebook. 

~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~