Waiting, watchful
Beady eyes,
Cold, coal crow,
Follows me.
Harsh her piercing
Grating cries
Cah, cah, calling me
I run, terrified to turn, to see.
But it is time
For battles to be won,
Reclaim the sovereignty that’s mine,
Declare independence … my own.
Red veils fall
On stark terrain,
The stretching past
The road before,
Survey the ground,
Bide your hours,
Face it head-on, don’t back down
Fight for all you’re worth.
She will lead you where you’re bound.
Demand what’s yours,
And then break free.
The other side to our path. you see,
To shine, star bright, across the sky,
You must not be afraid to burn.
Strike a kindling of flame, the old to die:
In time, this balance, you will learn.
Waiting, watchful
Beady eyes
Cold, coal crow
Follows me.
Harsh her piercing
Grating cries
Cah, cah, calling me
When I turn around, what will happen? I wait to see.
The Sound of What Happens 
Beautiful Éilis. Crows are a big part of our lives here in Cumbria. Our garden has hundreds of them roosting at dusk and raising their families in the ash trees.
Thanks, Steve! Yes there are quite a few crows around where I live in the Bay Area in California too, in fact one flew over my head earlier today. There are quite a few which fly around the park I frequent also, sometimes they sit in trees and call out when I walk under them but stop once I’m on the other side of the branches.
What great imagery Éilis.
‘Red veils fall
On stark terrain,
The stretching past
The road before’
That is great.
Thank you Geoff, I’m honored that you think so. 🙂
Beautiful words, Eilis! You convey the menace and the promise of the crow perfectly xx
Thanks, Helen! 🙂
You’re welcome Eilis!
I have a colony of crows in the tall trees in the church opposite. They are very noisy and active and fun to watch. I love their calls and how they work togethwr to see off predators after their young. Most people dont like crows, but I do. They are very intelligent birds. I can see why they were chosen to represent the Morrigan, and I cant help but visualise her in a long black cloak of feathers! Lovely poem, Éilis!
Thanks, Ali! Yes, crows are really intelligent and I like that about them. I’ve never been able to actually watch them work together, but where I see one, I usually see a couple or a bunch, and I’m convinced they’re talking to each other and coordinating something. 🙂
I admit, I used to be frightened about the prospect of looking up at a crow and seeing the Morrigan’s enigmatic fixing stare in the bird’s eyes. That has never actually happened. The Morrigan may indeed have a cloak of feathers on her, Ali. For what it’s worth, I’ve seen her long black flowing hair and those eyes, she took a very vaguely defined form. It wasn’t easy to turn around, but definitely worth doing. There are assumptions about her, and crows for that matter, I’m no longer making. But I feel that’s always the way of it. Like you said on your blog, we don’t have a lot of reliable material about our ancient ancestors and their culture, and what we do have has been subject to much interpretation. To my mind, there is really no substitute for careful research or personal experience when that’s an option. I’m still feeling very cautious. But I have grown. 🙂