howl

I decide which song to sing with
La Loba for the bones

I find the key that opens Bluebeard’s doors
I conquer the inner predator

I carry ancestral intuition in my pockets
I complete the initiation in Baba Yaga’s house
I earn the light of knowledge

I allow the one who knows my hidden names to come near
and untangle the love and face skeleton woman's unbeauty

I find those with whom there is
belonging
like a transformed swan

I embrace the power of the loins
dancing with La Mariposa

I escape the macabre dance of death
I do not put on the red shoes

the wild child awaits me
covered in seal skin

on a half moon night feed
I the bear
to find forgiveness
I invite anger for some tea

I am part of the Scar Clan
I carry the battle marks with pride

I take the long dark journey of the soul
as many times as it takes
into la selva subterranea,
the Underground Forest

my hands will always grow again

I am woman

wild

I run with the wolves.

---

NOTES:
This is my love poem to what I've been learning for the last 15 years with Women Who Run With The Wolves, the masterpiece by my beloved teacher, Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés.

I don't know how many times I've read her work, and it has been the basis for not only my work but for how to live my life.

Thank you for teaching me to be wild, Dr. Estés, I love you.