A Murder of Crows

Cherry

By marandina

Mon, 24 Jul 2023
  • 1314 reads
15 comments
 

A Murder of Crows

Clouds brood under dark skies

billowing black as coal dust,

hung low, pregnant with rain,

thunder rumbles like metal sheets

in a sound effects lab.

A murder of crows lined

along telegraph wire

watching the dusk fall

with their milk-lid blinks

seeing the first drops fall.

They scatter and flee,

searching for sanctuary

away from thankless elements,

white light splintering horizons,

lightening in saccadic shards.

Dispersed by murmuring winds

that blow in desolation,

across weather-beaten landscapes,

reminders of dreams where

a bird’s eye can see into souls.

They haunt my memories

of long-lost, rustic visits,

forgotten times of solitude,

when the view from a window

was a reflection of my thoughts.

Caught up in childhood reveries

of mountains and lakes,

a place of fairy tales and lore

where nothing seemed real

except for the birds of the night.

 

Image free to use at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crow#/media/File:Corvus_corone_-near_Canfo...

 

Certificate PG
Poem
Miscellaneous Poems
Fantasy

Comments

Submitted by Starfish Girl on

This is beautifully written and so atmospheric. Hard to pick any lines that are stand out as there are so many.

A poem to come back to many times.

Thanks for posting.

Lindy

Submitted by marandina on

Thanks for reading, Lindy. And that's so kind of you to say. Glad you liked it. Paul 

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Was it inspired by current weather you've just been having, a scene you've been seeing? The crows seem incidental except for setting the mood, but the metaphoric descriptions of thunder and lightening and very evocative, effective. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by marandina on

Thanks for reading, Rhiannon. Yes, I guess the constant rain and storms of the last week or so may have influenced me subliminally. You have to be grateful when there is such extreme heat in Europe at the moment. We are very lucky really. 

 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Hi Paul, 

you are so gifted and on my wavelength when it comes to writing. This is definitely a poem you should be very proud of, with its conjuring of the dark crows who scatter and flee, searching for sanctuary away from thankless elements.

Your imagination shines through in those lines:-

when the view from a window

was a reflection of my thoughts.

caught up in childhood reveries

of mountains and lakes,

a place of fairy tales and lore

where nothing seemed real

except for the birds of the night.

 

Such stunning and atmospheric lines, but the whole poem is a masterpiece.

Thank you so much for sharing.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by marandina on

Thanks for reading, Jenny. Your thoughts always appreciated and thank you for such kind feedback :) 

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

I enjoyed this - aren't crows supposed to presage disaster? They're such maligned birds - I have a family group who visit my garden daily and they're so beautiful and very clever too

 

Submitted by marandina on

Thanks for reading, insert. There is all kinds of mythology associated with corvines and crows, in particular. They are said to transport souls between realms amongst other things. There is a wonderfully Gothic movie called "The Crow" starring the ill-fated Brandon Lee. In the normal scheme of things, crows, ravens and rooks are all amazing birds with huge personalities. My favourites other than robins :) 

 

Submitted by marandina on

Thanks for the cherries, ABC Eds. Much appreciated. Paul 

 

Submitted by Turlough on

Your words have captured perfectly the haunting nature of a crow, especially when seen in numbers. Never considered glamorous, they play games with my imagination probably more than any other species of bird.

We have hooded rooks here. As they look at me I always imagine that they are speaking in runes about what they are going to do with my internal organs.

An excellent poem! I really enjoyed it.

 

Turlough

Submitted by marandina on

Ah thanks for reading, Turlough. There's definitely something magical about corvids. Yes, I think they do mess with our heads at times.

 

Submitted by celticman on

crows and snakes are those creatures we attribut murder to, but it's really us, as you show, as you know. 

 

Submitted by marandina on

Thanks for reading, CM. Wise words of yours. 

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

It made me think of the crows being like a catalyst with the storm to make your fairytale memories from childhood so strong they seemed reality, that if you were outside that window you would be in magic

 

Submitted by marandina on

Thanks for reading, Di. I hadn't thought about it in that way but, yes, crows make great metaphors. Your thoughts and analysis are always appreciated.