The Crow’s Should Examined
Here again, I laboriously climb
yew’s dry branches in dead forest
to crow prophesy:
Take warning, we should forgive each other.
You disparage my oily black feathers,
considering them unsightly, unclean.
Consider this too, though polar, may you
glean from me, as mouthpiece, morsels
that may nourish all souls?
Instead we are opposite, we
stand, entrenched in our untenable
positions, blinded, resolute until
earth’s now screaming species
cry -- until their whimpering end.
Our logics touch as though attacking,
bristling, repelled by each others’
rationalizations.
In unguarded moments of fantasy
where we discern harmony through morass
the gifts we bring even in good faith
smell of tainted stench, corpse flowers
maybe warped with subconscious
inter-generational templates of vendetta.
A gut crunch of remorse rumbles with
epiphany that even altruistic idealism
bears clawed grip in our hands to
implements, to manoeuvres.
My feathers ruffle; mites take flight
as I question myself as you; can you
put down the target of me
you guard inside your binoculars,
and I, you?
In a place beyond fantasy
In a realm beyond rationalization
In a sacred grove aligned with divine
Can we, in turn, say, “I will surrender?”
Will new eyes of assembled angels,
deities of the best kind,
find a way to snap,
flexible, enduring, whole way of being,
this aerial photograph?
The italicized lines in my poem are taken from:
They are hostile nations
By Margaret Atwood
i
In view of the fading animals
the proliferation of sewers and fears
the sea clogging, the air
nearing extinction
we should be kind, we should
take warning, we should forgive each other
Instead we are opposite, we
touch as though attacking,
the gifts we bring
even in good faith maybe
warp in our hands to
implements, to manoeuvres
ii
Put down the target of me
you guard inside your binoculars,
in turn I will surrender
this aerial photograph
(your vulnerable
sections marked in red)
I have found so useful
See, we are alone in
the dormant field, the snow
that cannot be eaten or captured
iii
Here there are no armies
here there is no money
It is cold and getting colder,
We need each others’
breathing, warmth, surviving
is the only war
we can afford, stay
walking with me, there is almost
time / if we can only
make it as far as
the (possibly) last summer
Margaret Atwood, “They are hostile nations” from Selected Poems 1965-1975. Copyright © 1974, 1976 by Margaret Atwood. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Source: Selected Poems (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1976)
Laura is today’s host for dVerse’ Meeting the Bar prompt. Laura says:
Poetry Prompt: Pick a Fragment by selecting up to 13 consecutive lines
-
from a published poet (can even be a fragment poem)
-
OR from an unpublished draft of yours
-
OR from one of your own poems
Poetry Style: Integrate this fragment into a new poem but keep the line order
-
scatter throughout your poem as broken lines, disjointed words etc, with gaps, pauses etc
-
OR Write your poem alongside the fragmentary parts, as though they are dialoguing
Guidelines: italicise the fragment lines, words (and reference the author/poem in your post)
There are no rules regarding rhyme or syllable but you might want to emulate the tone/meter of the fragment extract
Tao Talk 
I may have reversed the directions😵💫
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Not sure who this is.
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aiming towards something
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and not dawdling along the way at this point.
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Very cool transposition of Atwood’s poem onto the perspective of a crow!
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Thanks, Chris!
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If only someone, some leader somewhere, would listen and lead us out of this morass…(K)
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<3
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Very cool poem Lisa…from the crows perspective. I really like “In a sacred grove aligned with divine”
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Max, thank you. It was one of the more challenging poems to write.
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Yes…this was like Stairway to Heaven compared to a regular pop song…I know you worked hard in this one.
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That was intense, Lisa! Beautifully woven together, a true tour de force! Well done!
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Nancy, thank you :)
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Welcome, Lisa!
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Brilliant poem, Lisa. We stand entrenched in our untenable positions…until theirs whimpering end. Globally we are entrenched with ineffectual leaders. I love the symbolism of the crow and the wonderful imagery.
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Di, thank you for taking a close look at the poem and your thoughtful comments.
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You’re welcome Lisa :)
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A wonderful deep expansion and transposition from Atwood’s poem, Lisa. I have been reading her book on writing which in which she describes how she began as a poet, but I need to read more of her actual poems – so thanks for the nudge Lisa…
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Andrew, many thanks. I just watched a mini-series on netflix based on one of her books, “Alias Grace.” I knew she was a poet before moving to writing books, but haven’t read much of her poetry. When I saw Laura’s prompt, I went looking for one of her poems. So happy you are reading her book and will seek out her poetry now :)
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I think we fail to listen when we put all our focus on who is talking (forktongued behind a white smile)… the message is clear… but we focus on the crows look
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so accurate: “forktongued behind a white smile” Perfect white smile and robot eyes are the signs of the devil to me.
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Choosing an Atwood poem is SO you, love it. From the ‘crow’s’ perspective .. truth! WOW .. CAW.
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Helen, many thanks :)
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That is quite a beautiful bird. Love the colours in the feathers.
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Gia, I agree. I looked a long time to find this picture.
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Thank you for the effort. 🤓❤️
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:)
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In the last few centuries, Mom Nature has been disturbed terribly by humans.
..
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With good reason, Jim. So far we’re hanging on for dear life.
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“entrenched in our untenable positions”
Yes, that is our world, isn’t it? Wonderful writing, Lisa.
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Sara, uh-huh :( Thank you.
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Your last stanza is my favorite.
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Thanks much, Dear Melissa <3
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