The spirit of Jo Renbeck

I have just armed this Goddess created by Jo Renbeck, ( 1942-2013), with a braided vine scepter. It is so good to have her out in the forest, watching the house, trapping the sunshine and sending fierce love back to us. I miss my friend Jo Renbeck, the fabulous poet, book artist sculptor and painter who died in 2013 while I was living and working in Miami. For 9 years the sculpture of this Goddess was in storage in our basement corner. Putting her back out into the world, especially into the forest, was one of my first acts moving back.
At Jo's funeral I am told she requested this song be sung to the melody of Amazing Grace:

Amazing Grace, how sweet the earth,
the dirt between my toes,
the sun pours down upon my crown,
the mighty river flows.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
of bird song in the trees,
the air is dense with fragrant scents
soft floating on the breeze.
Amazing Grace the ocean swells,
the waves break on the shore,
the moonlight rides upon the tides,
oh, who could ask for more.
Now we’ve been here four million years
sustained at her sweet breast,
let’s sing her praise for all our days,
then in her womb we’ll rest.
 -copyright by Elizabeth Cunningham, 1995. (Feel free to sing at any occasion. For permission to reprint, contact Elizabeth through her website.)

 Elizabeth also shared that, "Jo was a seer. She saw keenly the visible, natural world around her, and she also saw the invisible world, the spirit at the heart all things". ... "She was someone who could go between the worlds, inner and outer, visible and invisible, waking and dreaming, the world of deep human connections and the intricate connections of the natural world, of all life."

Looking out into the woods, I would welcome a visit from my friend Jo. This time of year so much is shed, and we are distilled down to our bones. The spirit world seems palpable.

Jo Renbeck (1942-2013)