Sunday, April 22, 2012

Coda: Of crows, dragons, angels and swans








On the roof a cacophony loud enough
to wake the deadly, and me
Murderous damned crows
tap-dancing thunderous as dragons
They shimmy across the shingles
down to the eavestroughs where
they're sipping rain-water
and mountain-ash berries collected,
fermented to a fine natural exquisite wine

No wonder they're in no hurry to go
I raise the blind to squint them gone
but of course they have their own
flashy feathered abstract ideas about
timely leaving; they are oily black, spangling
ethereal black angels up on my roof

I lay back, my head aching from their sound,
and their beauty
Still, I wish them gone
Imagine folding each one carefully
into a perfect black origami swan
But instead of sending them aloft or aground
I know I'd have them shelved, quieted at last.

S.E.Ingraham©


24 comments:

  1. LOL...we all went for dragons...how very different to go for crows... I love it! :)
    Fabulous imagery. It's not nice if they drive you nuts with their noise though.
    Great wordle.

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  2. I love it, Sharon. Crows visited my piece, too. The tap dancing image is fabulous. This is a great contribution. So glad you write with us!

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  3. Ooh! I love this. I like the image of crows tap dancing. Reminded me of the pileated woodpeckers who used to pound on the metal gutters at my parents' house. Guess they thought if they drilled long and hard enough they would break through to some treasure or treat! They only succeeded in making a head-splitting cacophonous sound!

    Everybody's takes on these are always so different and refreshing! I took another route altogether. . .

    http://paulatohlinecalhoun1951.wordpress.com/2012/04/22/the-anniversary-wordle/

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  4. Crows are such wonderful creatures and I love what you did with them. Great imagery!

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  5. Crows are never quiet creatures. You captured them well with the wordle words. Keep writing,

    Elizabeth
    http://soulsmusic.wordpress.com/

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  6. Wonderful descriptions - oily black, black origami swan, eg. I like imagining crows as dragons!

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  7. Really beautiful images, Sharon. I especially like the last stanza.

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  8. Sharon, every stanza is an absolute delight. So beautifully done.

    Pamela

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  9. Oh, bravo, this is wonderful, one of my favorite poems this week. You have managed to use the wordle words well. They glide effortlessly!

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  10. What a treat - the clever allusions, the unbridled rage, the flow - all make for a rattling good read :-)

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  11. This is so full of descriptive imagery, I can nearly hear and see it! The second stanza is my favorite...trying to squint them gone. You have captured the love-hate relationships perfectly.

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  12. Love the image of the crows shimmying, and even more the one of the speaker folding them into origami selves.

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  13. Excellent. You managed to capture the crows as irritants as well as being beautiful creatures. I also enjoyed thinking of them as 'origami swans.'

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  14. drunk crows on the roof, not a great way to start the day. :-)

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  15. "Murderous damned crows
    tap-dancing thunderous as dragons"
    I'm not sure which is the funnier sight, crows or dragons as ballerinas in top-shoes. Perhaps it was because I was watching a show with my grandson that feature ballerinas. I too sometimes wish the birds of morning would let me sleep past dawn. Wonderful wordle.
    Mine is here:
    http://julesgemsandstuff.blogspot.com/2012/04/sugar-and-spice.html

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  16. Ah, the love/hate relationship of humans and certain birds. "A cacophony loud enough to wake the deadly, and me," INSPIRED play on words, Sharon. Loved it and can sympathize... for me, it's one damned morning bird outside my window... at 4:30 am. Peace, and here's mind, Amy
    http://sharplittlepencil.com/2012/04/23/was-a-time-when/

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  17. Love your use of these wordle words with the crows! We have them on our roof as well and it is always surprising how loud they can be. I do love them, but in the early morning I would want them shelved as well! Thank you for visiting my blog as well.

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  18. I, too, have thunderous crows outside my door. Their incessant cawing drives me batty in the morning. But it wouldn't be the same without them. I've seen your name before but I don't think I've ever visited your blog. I will check it out. Peace.

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  19. Oh this brought back memories! It has been a long while since I've dealt with murderous crows - oh but I do remember my own murderous thoughts towards them! Wonderful write.

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  20. Sharon, this is just fantastic:
    "but of course they have their own
    flashy feathered abstract ideas about
    timely leaving"
    LOVE.

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  21. Them crows clatter and mingle in our minds so greatly put so that the experience was shared and lived brilliant

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  22. Murderous thoughts about a murder of crows...terrific imagery in this poem, enjoyed it very much :)

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  23. "Murderous damned crows" great line!

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  24. Didn't realize I hadn't made it back here to read comments until now ... seems harder somehow to keep up with the poem-a-day prompts at Poetic Asides this time around although why that should be is beyond me ... appreciate all those who came, read and commented both here and over at Poets United where Sherry Merk's "Life of a Poet" interview popped up this week too ... all in all, a good week. On to the next wordle ...

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