Crow

By Ethel Grace  (May 2002) 

Id been injured physically and I'd watch
you in your corner of the wood from my
window.
I sensed you were nesting there so I asked
others to take feed out to you.
Occasionally you'd swoop from the limbs-
playing among the trees.
I observed you sitting on a branch looking
around as if you were on guard:
I called you "Sentry".

I perceived you were like me; searching for
shelter and a reprieve from society,
A place where you could be safe with no other
humans to intrude your haven,
A place where you and your young would not
worry about the influence of a spiritually
broken culture.
I called you "Friend".

I heard a "CAW!" seconds before you or one of
one of your own had been shot down.
My heart gripped in fear for you as I hobbled
to the porch to see what happened.
When I saw you carried upside down I felt I no
longer had you to guard me.
I called you "Dead".

You lost your life because your beautiful
plumage was envied for decoration.
I went to my bed mourning the loss of the one
who I believed was my protector.
I was tormented by guilt for my inability to
reciprocate the favor.

My heart was sore as I searched for you or
walked by the open window.
I listened and heard other crows down the
hollow, but none have came to sit on your
branch.
I yearned to be able to go out and look for
you until I found you,

But that night as I lay in bed YOUR SPIRIT
came to me and found a new resting place.
For a very long time I'd waited patiently
for my animal guide to choose me.
It took your LIFE and DEATH to lead me to a
new sense of who I am, who I want to be.
I now call you "Totem".

To Top

::SiteMap::