"When We Were Very Old" - the poetry of Erica Swadley

 

"Swadley's poetry often moves me into a transcendent state of being 

or a deep belly laugh of joy. Can't stop reading her." 

Sharon Brady, artist

Recently my friend and one-time Collaborator Erica Swadley published a new collection of her poetry - the Title of the book, and the title poem, are called "When We Were Very Old".   The Collection of poems greets me in the morning, a meditation on the mysterious and yet intimate forces of spirit, or potent reflections on aging........and a few hysterically funny poems too!  Thank you Erica, I shall be diving into the depths of your beautiful poetry for a long time.  

Erica took the role of Sedna's Shaman in the 2004 Ritual Theatre Performance, "Restoring the Balance",  with the Masks of the Goddess and the extraordinary community of Tucson's artists, musicians and storytellers.  Erica is and has been for many years a poet, an artist, and a Shamanic Practitioner.  She's the real thing, and that multi-dimensional presence of ancestors  sings through her collection of poetry, along with her very wry sense of humor.  

Erica wrote, and graciously allowed me to share with many, the powerful Invocation of the Great Mother for that event, and it has travelled to many communities since then.  In fact, we used her same  Invocation to open the "Masks of the Goddess" performance in 2024 in Rochester, Minnesota. 

"When We Were Very Old" was recently published by Fathom Publishing, and may be purchased at other outlets, including Amazon.  Her Publisher has this to say:

"Erica Swadley was inspired by When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne. She writes with just the right mix of playfulness and ecstasy. Her poems address the adventure of aging with humor, compassion and tenderness. As the author spends couch potato time recovering from various joint implants, she explores topics some people would rather not look at - such as loneliness and invisibility. She also makes clear that the elderly remain passionate, sensuous and engaged with life.......She is what in some cultures is known as a word-doctor, receiving information from ineffable sources, and acting as a vessel to let messages pour through." 

When We Were Very Old

Say what you want

about what I should be

but you won't really get it

till you're 83

pushing the edges. Of 84

a vacation adventure is a trip to the store.

I've already forgotten

as I walk in the door

the things that I thought

I couldn't do without.

I settled for Franks and Sauerkraut.

I looked for my car in the parking lot

it's Arizona white so it was hard to spot.

I climbed into a Honda that looked like mine

the Chihuahua bit me

but I'm feeling fine.

To ward him off  I gave him some franks

I was licked all over in slobbery thanks.

I'm headed home, for lunch and a nap

ageing's not for sissies,

so shut your trap.

                                             

                                       The Invitation

The grandmothers are circling.

In the Heaven worlds.

Responding to my call.

Pleased to be remembered,

honored with their names.

Glad to be needed again 

to be part of the future

not just traces of the past.

I see them with their strengths

their foibles turned to assets.

Their trials become wisdom.

I feel their warm hands on my shoulders

I want to give them flowers, and brush their hair.

I want to sit on their laps to hear their stories.

I want to try on their fancy hats,

and cook wearing magic aprons.

We'll gather often now that the call has been sent out.

I sleep more deeply knowing

I am safe and not alone.

Grandmothers are the precious fruit

on the family tree, the tree with deep roots.

And sheltering branches under the sky canopy. 

 From "When We Were Very Old" (2026)

 

                                         

Deep Inside

Deep inside of us

there is a river.  

Keep watch over it.  

Guard its banks.

Filled with tears of pain and sadness

spilled throughout our lives,

its waters are sacred,

dark, fathomless,

following fields grown

stark, lying fallow.

We need restore old hurts,

ride the rapids,

celebrate love, not

hide from the past.

The headwaters flow

from the heart.

Deep inside of us

there is a river. 

From "When We Were Very Old" (2026)

"Erica's poems reveal messages from her soul to you, that are revealed through her observations of the world that surrounds her, often with humor. These observations are rich descriptions that come from her years as a visual artist. Her poems are paintings. She reveals her emotional life subtly, often mirroring your own. Her poems resonate deeply, one poem leads you to read another and another."

Pat Dolan: artist, author of Stalking the Sacred and The Angels Made Me Do It