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Poetry
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Caws for Reflection
By patterjack
11 June 2007




Caws  for  Reflection


In the  trees down  by  the  tennis  courts  a   murder  of  crows
has  congregated   for  some   black corvine event .
Clumsy  ,  sometimes even more  inept   than  currawongs ,
they  crash  heavily  onto  branches  ,  cawing  their   dismay
that  the  slender   ends betray  them  ,  whipping  downwards
as  they  scramble clownishly  to  secure  a  perch.
Their  dignity is  diminished   further  still
by  the swoops  of  their   smaller black  and grey tormentors ,
the  Noisy  Miners ,  who  indignantly  resent
another   bird's  transgressions   through  their   space.
There   is  no crow food  to  be  found  round  here ,
no human's discarded  scraps  ,  and   certainly  no   road kill
So maybe   this  is a  kind  of  family  gathering:
a  socialising   , to  let  each  other  know
with  drawn out  cadences    of  throaty   calls
all  the  recent  news  from  their   airy   kingdom
about  the  hatched  ,  the  matched  and lastly the  dispatched.
And  I  ,  who  have  not all  that  long  before  attended 
a  family  gathering , in  order to  see  off 
an  aged  sister  in  law ,  a  long  time in  her dying,
cannot  but  help  compare  their  noisy  meeting 
with  the   wake   that  followed  the  lady's funeral  service;
not  perhaps  as  noisy  ,  but coloured   just  as  black ,
with the  gossipy   exchange   of  what  is  new  
in  family  relationships  ,  in marriages  , births and  jobs:
the  celebration   among  those living  still
of  the  fact  that  they have  mundane  things  to  do
to   prove  they  have  some  value   to  the  world .
Carried  with  more  decorum  than  the gathering of  crows,
Yet each  gathering  resembles   a kind  of    affirmation .


Reviews
Well put -
Written by Josie (2496 comments posted) 11th June 2007
You studied this group well and did well in relating it to human behaviour. There is not much difference, actually, between us and the animal/bird world. I loved your words: "match, hatch and dispatch" because, other than gathering in the food, it's really what we all do. Here in England they are busy with the "hatching" and one young blackbird in my garden, studies me, and every time I go out, he appears. I must be taking on the role of mother blackbird because he seems to look on me as his provider. He's taken to studying me through my windows too. Whenever I look up, there are a pair of eyes watching me. Once again Brian, I congratulate you on a well written, thoughtful poem. 
 

Written by Phil (6388 comments posted) 11th June 2007
For me, a lot simpler than much of your work, but in its directness and clarity, it creates a lovely read. The physical scene is built really well, almost comical in places - and you move throught to the thoughts and reflections very easily. 
 
Liked the title. It reflected the comic and serious nature of the piece. 
 
Liked very much. 
 
Phil. 
 

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