April Poetry: Nancy Ayer

In recognition of Poetry Month, and to celebrate and highlight our treasure trove of Orcas Island poets, Orcas Issues is pleased and honored to again offer daily poetry during April.

A Hero’s Journey

— by Nancy Ayer —

Halfway between clay and peat an ancient grave reveals a secret kept well hidden through the ages by Mother Earth.

The dry, lifeless and dismembered bones of a prehistoric bison once lay in this in-between-sacred space of sand and shells.

Having served their time in the dark depths of the great below, the bones allowed themselves to be excavated from the primordial, black ooze.

As they emerged piece by piece through the albino layers of volcanic ash and antediluvian dirt they soon found the light.

As was their fate, the vast Spirit Wind breathed warm, invigorating life into their cold marrow.

Once rendered incapable of changing, the bones were now infused with renewal and a fresh sense of purpose.

Slaughtered long ago and left for dead, the bison’s assembly and re-creation will soon give back to the world, serving as an educational tool that spans 12,000 years.

The transformed spirit of a mighty, heroic creature, once willing to die and thus to live, will bring its gifts for all humanity as it becomes a focal point for the Orcas Island Historical Museum.