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G
Gneelies
Apr 06, 2025 ⭐ View statistics (Premium feature)

Winter Crow

The snow fell fresh upon the field
And like the siren's song it pled,
"Come, let's us spend this pensive hour
Together as your Spirit's led!"

Then like a spectre cold I breathed
And slaked my way alone
To weigh the measure of a life
Among the birches, pines, and bone.

And, leaning, set my ear to hear,
Amidst the winter's silent dearth,
The crackle of the corn-fed crow
Upon his pine-tipped tower perched.

His plumes the hue of midnight death
And breast and back of black
And in his darkness graced the sky
With all his sacred silhouette.

Lone sentinel of barren field
Wherein the farmer sows each row...
"One for the pigeon and one for the crow
One to rot and one to grow!"

He must have marked the crumping snow
And snapling of the twigs in thaw.
And signalled to his murder friends
Some stark alert and warning caw!

Generous omen he of death;
And calamity his augur!
To set ones face upon this doom
Is to be both king and pauper.

In silence, then, I turned and saw
My feral life revealed in woe
And I with debt obliged to pay
This venerate prophet winter Crow!

About This Poem

Editing Stage: Editing - rough draft

About the Author

Country/Region: Northeast USA

Favorite Poets: Alfred Lord Tennyson, John Keats, William Wordsworth, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Matthew Arnold, Ralph Waldo Emerson

More from this author

Comments

Geezer

Geezer

3 months 2 weeks ago

In having...

to look up a couple of words, I spent more time puzzling over them, than I did enjoying the poem. I think that there are words that are simpler and still suited for the task. All in all, a good poem, but...

I will now amend the opinion of someone who should know better. Me! I've been told that a person was amazed that I did not know those words and had to look them up! I only showed my ignorance.
So, I enjoyed it a lot more the second and third time around...

.Ahhh, you had me in a great rhythm until the fourth stanza.
I can think of a couple of different ways to go with an [ack] word
instead of silhouette.

"One [seed] for the pigeon and one for the crow,
One to rot and one to grow."

~ Geezer.
.

Candlewitch

Candlewitch

3 months 1 week ago

Hello,

I feel that the rhythm varied from verse to verse, which feels a bit off. Even so, I did enjoy this poem because of the colorful and inspired imagery. Especially enjoyed thees lines:

In silence, then, I turned and saw
My feral life revealed in woe
And I with debt obliged to pay
This venerate prophet winter Crow!

thanks for the entertainment! Cat

RoseBlack

RoseBlack

3 months 1 week ago

I thought

This was well done. Crows and ravens are my favorite birds. I thought the word choice was intriguing, a few I hadn't heard before but felt it fit the theme and feel of the poem nicely. Well done

Alex Tanner

Alex Tanner

3 months 1 week ago

Good Read

I enjoyed this immensely. I would have ditched several unnecessary conjunctions which would, I think, have helped the rhyme and flow. Whenever I read about crows I cannot but help think of Randall Flag. Alex.