Sheela’s Perpetual Earth prayer for life and love and the people of Ukraine 

Her prayer is made from 
what is all life,

what is ordinary, every day,
nearest to the ground.

How could our souls be happy
without the small creatures our lives depend on,
with their  bellies on the Earth
who we encounter on our walks,
who leave us feeling consecrated?

Her headdress is not weeds but folk flowers
who break through the thrall of winter first
and smile us back to life.

And of course she has woven in Witchhazel,
of course pussy willow,
of course her clitoris is a sunflower seed
and her necklace a string of sweet peas
already starting to germinate.
Her earrings daisies dandling catkins,
her Lorica a special sunflower prayer of protection 
for the children of Ukraine.

Beside her a slow worm is slithering a figure of eight
around the base of the first bluebell.

At her entrance 
a frog has embraced another under the arms 
and they have been in the throes of love for three weeks!

A blackbird is there to carry her prayer into the world
and in remembrance of my auntie who is at the end of her life 
who fed a blackbird for years 

in her kitchen

from her hand.