Article by Bronwyn Boyer / Photography by Josianne Masseau

Sara Rogers, also known as Wolf Ma Poet, recently found herself with a published book of poetry called Elemental Magic – Poetic Chapters of Wild Self Love. While she pays homage to Walt Whitman and Mary Oliver, Rogers says her biggest inspiration are her two daughters and a deep connection to nature. After allowing these forces to flow through her, Elemental Magic seemed to spring to life of its own accord.

“I never intended to write a book,” Rogers recalls. “It just sort of happened.”

Born in Toronto and raised in Oshawa, with degrees in law, education and sociology, Rogers ultimately found her calling as a poet.

“I've always been interested in learning, social justice and the entrepreneurial spirit,” she explains. “I was also a real estate agent when my daughters were young. Landing on poetry was a surprise but it contains the essence of all the other things that I've done.”

Rogers moved to Huntsville in 2021 with her husband and two daughters, where her poetic spirit found a home on the Big East River, near Arrowhead Provincial Park. But it was camping at Killbear Provincial Park and summers at her grandparents’ cottage just north of Muskoka that first bonded her to the area.

“I think an early connection to the wild is so important,” she says. “I’d say it was the prelude to my poetry because it has a profound impact on the creative spirit.”

Like all the great poets before her, the spark of Rogers’ writing was ignited by communing with nature.

“I would go into the forest and hear little whispers of a poem,” she explains. “It was a voice of curiosity, possibility and hope.”

Rogers says music also plays a significant role in her poetry. Watching The Tragically Hip perform earned Gord Downie the position of poet laureate of her heart. Carrying on his legacy, her own poetry highlights the importance of having the courage to choose love and hope in the face of chaos.

Shortly after moving to Huntsville, Rogers began sharing her poetry at markets and festivals on her own line of clothing. The idea came to her like a bolt of lightning, effortless and immediate.

“I always had a vision that a woman's body is a home,” she says. “So, I wanted to offer poetry in a form that women could wear as a reminder that their bodies are poetry. And then I extended that idea to everybody; I believe everybody is a poem, the sacred vessel that we carry in this lifetime.”

Rogers’ nom de plume, Wolf Ma Poet, is the creative muse she uses to detach from her identity, which helps her write freely.

“It came to me while I was staring at a pack of wolves at the Haliburton wolf sanctuary,” she explains. “I just felt like the muse chose me.”

The name is also fitting because Rogers thinks of her family as a wolf pack, as well as the following that arose from her poetry and apparel.

“It works because we take care of each other and everyone belongs,” she says. “I really love nurturing that community online and making connections at markets.”

Another important aspect of Rogers’ work is memory and how people resonate with her own experiences.

“I love when people read a line on the back of a T-shirt or hoodie that evokes a childhood memory,” she says. “And then they pick up my book and thumb through it and you can see the remembering in their eyes. It just proves that our stories are more alike than different.”

Rogers’ affinity with nature and the human spirit has allowed her to form a language for emotions that are otherwise impossible to articulate.

“I think the poet's job is to sit in a feeling long enough for the words to surface,” she shares. “Poetry helps explain the entirety of our experience. It reminds us who we are.”

Elemental Magic is divided in chapters according to elements in nature. “Fire is the heart, earth is the body, air is our voice and water is memory,” says Rogers. “And then the fifth element is magic. That’s the unseen, soulful essence that you can't explain.”

The second part of the title, “wild self love,” refers to the primal, empathetic bond between people and the planet.

“Wild self-love is instinctual,” Rogers explains. “It's not something to be attained in order to prove your worthiness. It’s the feeling that you belong. Love, like the Earth, is what we came from and what we return to.”

A prevailing message Rogers’ collection portrays is that hope and resilience can be found in creativity and the natural world.

Elemental Magic can be purchased from www.sararogers.ca or from Rogers’ booth at festivals and markets in Muskoka and surrounding areas.