by Wendy Jean MacLean
Death's route is serpentine,
winding in and out of dreams and memories
like a river moving across the land.
I see the traces of its path through the desert.
The dry wadi remembers fish
and light dancing on palm branches.
I taste dust, and wait
for Death to release the tears
that lead me to the Salt Sea
where I will float, a living prayer
suspended in the dead water.
Death is not the only visitor.
I hear the tambourines of Miriam and her sisters,
mothers of reeds and return, dancers in the moonlight.
Death's insinuating presence slithers and sneaks
into all my thoughts, calling across the divide,
shimmering in the reflection on the water.
Death sheds its old skin.
Life has plans for a new route
through the wilderness.
Wendy Jean MacLean’s work is shaped by her lifelong engagement with mythology, gospel and spirituality. Her poetry has been commissioned and sung internationally. In May 2023, 2 pieces debuted at the National Unison Choir Festival in Halifax, in commemoration of the LGBTQ purge. On Small Wings, was published in 2022.Wendy is a minister of the United Church of Canada and a Spiritual Director, trained in the "contemplative evocative" approach to listening for the soul and soul-friend accompaniment. She lives in Brockville, Ontario, with her husband and a sheep-doodle named Joy.
Published in Crosswinds, Gathering, Green Spirit, Ancient Paths, Boosey and Hawkes, GIA, Streetlight, Presence, Amethyst Review, Sheila-na-Gig, Collegeville. Awards include: Don Gutteridge Poetry Prize; Big Pond Rumours Chapbook; Open Heart; Poetry Matters; the Drummond, and a Pushcart nomination.