Murder, Mayhem and the Like

Like a storm, the cloud arises

cast against the fading sky;

voices cackling in the distance

others scream back in reply…

The setting sun calls to the darkness

the answer swift on blackened wing—

while some may write of birds returning.

or rites of nature in the spring—

other folks seek out the dark tales

that speak both strength and suffering…

Stories passed down through the ages,

survivors’ tales of battles fought;

tales of anger and of sorrow

behind the guise that time has wrought.

Inside this gathering of the crows

we'd seek the knowledge they’d bestow,

shared with us on this nocturne

they cite for us this lesson learned:

 To find your way back to the light

   first you must confront the night

© Ginny Brannan

NaPoWriMo 2020 Day 5

On the NaPoWriMo site, their pre-NaPoWriMo prompt was to write something about birds. I have been pecking away at this one for a few days, pun intended, but it has been ruminating inside for  over a month since seeing large flocks of crows in the trees at dusk around the Medical Center where husband was undergoing surgery. I've since learned that these migrating flocks return to Massachusetts yearly, usually in late February - early March, mostly on the eastern side of the state near Lawrence but apparently we are also seeing them now in the Pioneer Valley. The sheer number of them was amazing, and my darker, Edgar Allan Poe side, has always been fascinated by these birds.