Tuesday, September 27, 2011

crow in the rain


you know me
by my blackened feathers
and dark eyes

tonight
rain flows in a thin cold film
from my head
to my throat
falling to my feet
in pale grey drops


you know me by my call -
raw and brusque
not sweet and kind
and yet the words i sing
i sing like a kiss
(you know the kind)
the soul-opening
world unfolding kiss
that sells all else before it
as cheaply
as any night market trinket
danced into desire
by a hawker man
ever was -
bent on you
but only for an instant ...

my words hover
and hold
entire moments
great spaces
in which lives begin and end
and begin again

you know, this rain ...
this rain serves me well
as it soaks my scars
with its electric
blue linament
and slides
so moistly off the rock
to which i have attached
the small clinging hope i have
for an evening
spent in solitude
and peopled by wishes
so bold
and unlikely
as to frighten off any takers
hearing my call
my kiss
my song


photo from google images shared by tess kincaid at magpie tales

16 comments:

Ruth said...

It's a kindness, that kiss.

Reya Mellicker said...

I love crows. C'mon, give us a rainy kiss! I insist.

Reflections said...

Love the tenderness of that gentle kiss, kindness beyond the obvious.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Members of the crow family are among my favourite birds steven.

Friko said...

I have to admit that I have never seen a crow as poetic as yours.

Mine are raucous and belligerent.

Helen said...

Your Magpie is magnificent!

Jo said...

Bold, fearless, raw. But somehow gentle, too.

You.

NanU said...

so rich i want to bite this poem like a crisp apple.
perfect photo

Pauline said...

Carlos Castenada said crows were always an omen - he just didn't say of what...

steven said...

hello everyone, thankyou for your kind and thoughtful comments!! this was such fun for me, from cropping the original image, to writing the original words, to visiting it every few hours or so and tweaking the words, to finally letting it go so it could have a bit of a rest and be whatever it is. i love crows - i remember castaneda's allusions to crows and perhaps that's where their otherness first settled in me. "rainy kisses". i can recall a few in my life. nothing but goodness. you're all so lovely and good! steven

Maxwell Mead Williams Robinson Barry said...

delicious...

Tess Kincaid said...

Call, kiss and song...lovely write, Steven...

steven said...

thanks morning! steven

steven said...

tess - thanks for the sweet prompt. steven

hyperCRYPTICal said...

Lovely tale.

Anna :o]

Kathe W. said...

stellar- from the framing of the photo to your eloquent poem.