(a return to the time of the Grandmothers)
He learned all he knew from his Mother and Grandmother.
What time of year to plant each seed?
How deep within the soil and how much space between?
Did they need the morning or the evening sun?
Would they require more or less watering?
He learned how to grow this garden (for it wasn’t “his”)
By talking with the seeds and then the plants themselves.
He built a mutual relationship full of compassion and joy,
While holding gently within his large calloused hands each living thing.
He was old, but the wisdom he held was so much older.
His Mother and Grandmother left this to him so long ago,
And now he needed to pass the knowledge on to another.
So… he asked his plant family and the Spirits of his ancestors,
And without hesitation he knew who would follow him,
As his own granddaughter ran towards him in her flowing dress
Through the rows of plants that seemed to touch her in approval.
And in that moment, he knew that someday she would be a Grandmother
Who would pass this wisdom to her children and grandchildren.
This is my journey
— Nate Long “Owl”
Graphite with digital manipulation