Poem and artwork by Meg Sorick
The rains have come
And the birds have gone
Just the carrion crows
Cackling like crones
Gather in the bare branches
Watchful for a meager meal
Falling Hawthorne berries
And delicate dandelion clocks
Mark the passage of time
Golden gorse and crumbling
Stone walls
Creep the ages by
It is the season for reflection
When death is all around us
To close the doors and windows
On the cold and howling wind
When the brief and bitter daylight
Yields to darkness and decay
To wither or to weather?
Hidden and hermetic
Insulated, introverted
To waste these hours of isolation?
Or cling to life and dream of love
In a springtime so far away
Fabulous, Meg. Both word and art.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much, Rita! Good to see you! ❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
❤️❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love this poem. And the drawing. I love crows. Smart birds.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you so much! I enjoy the crows myself. They are intelligent and fun to watch work out a problem if you have the chance to observe them at it. 😉
LikeLiked by 2 people
Love it! Though, even as we roast currently, I fear the coming season. Supposed to be a rough one for us, according to the Farmers Almanac. Is it Spring yet? 😃
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! I’m curious to see what kind of winter we get. Fall is certainly here early! St least there’s football! 😃 We signed up for NFL gamepass so we can watch!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice! Didn’t see the Eagles game. They win? And how ‘bout Lamar, man?!? All the doubters that he could play QB can eat a little crow! He got better every year he was here at UofL, and he’s gonna keep getting better in the NFL too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They won last week but blew it last night. The Steelers look pretty bad this year too. Maybe that Game Pass wasn’t such a good idea! 😜 And yes! Although I can’t be too happy about the Steelers arch rivals doing so good! 😟
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, Steelers looked pretty inept against the Pats…but the Pats are pretty dang good. 😃
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ugh… I am soooo tired of the Patriots. Belichek must have some deal with the devil to be this good this long!
LikeLiked by 1 person
No doubt. And somehow, they’ll turn Antonio Brown into a model citizen. 😏
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know! How do they do it? 😣
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have no clue. And when they get a problem child, like Aaron Hernandez, they just cover it up somehow. Maybe they brainwash them or something. 😏
LikeLiked by 1 person
Right! Suddenly they become model citizens. And play like all stars!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Crazy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The poem is great, I really love the artwork. That would make a good cover for a poetry book.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah! Thank you! A friend of mine used this in their poetry collection to accompany one of the poems. So I guess that’s a good use of the piece!
LikeLiked by 2 people
You’re welcome.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t usually look at the wordy posts but the crows caught my eye… gotta love a good crow drawing !! 😎
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much, Steve! One of my success [few and far between] with charcoal!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love to see them co-operating to achieve their aim. They are very determined in chasing off birds of prey, much bigger and stronger than themselves, too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes they are! I am trying to distinguish [with the help of my new bird guide] the differences between crows and rooks. They’re really cool!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, and you have to redefine robins too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow–I love that. Very Mary Oliver-esque!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much!😃
LikeLiked by 1 person
An excellent poem to usher in the autumn! All the circus’s are delightful. Here we have our magpies, of course.
My husband was just making a joke about carrion (which I didn’t get). I mentioned taking a carry-on bag for our trip and he said, “You’re bringing a dead rabbit?”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahaha! That’s a good one, I’m stealing it for the next time we fly! 😂 Thanks so much!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Geez, spell check. Corvids, not circus’s.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ok, that makes more sense! Don’t you hate that? 😃
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I do. Proofreading everything is a pain – but good practice for a writer.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like this work Meg. really like the change of pace in each stanza, followed by the ending of choosing to enjoy the isolation in the hope of a returning Spring,
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you kindly! My first autumn in a new country…
LikeLike