deepundergroundpoetry.com
RAVENS
Ebony winged angels,
Ravens are not the Devil’s make
Rather, they have been sent to earth
By Heaven’s sake
Not morbid creatures
Prowling about a moonless night
Instead, they fly on the edge
Of the new morning light
Whether alighting upon a branch
Over a deer just killed
Or circling above another animal
That death has willed
The raven’s loud
Clarion call
Reminds us mortal
We are all
So, prepare your soul
And renew your spirit
For at any moment
A raven may come to visit
Ravens are not the Devil’s make
Rather, they have been sent to earth
By Heaven’s sake
Not morbid creatures
Prowling about a moonless night
Instead, they fly on the edge
Of the new morning light
Whether alighting upon a branch
Over a deer just killed
Or circling above another animal
That death has willed
The raven’s loud
Clarion call
Reminds us mortal
We are all
So, prepare your soul
And renew your spirit
For at any moment
A raven may come to visit
Published 23rd Feb 2019
Author's Note
In much of medieval Europe ravens were considered angels of death. Indeed, they would often gather on fields of battle, even before the fighting would start, anticipating the tragic outcome. Even more profound, ravens would roost near the scaffold in wait for the condemned to arrive. It was reported that several ravens were waiting patiently above the scaffold the day of Anne Boleyn’s beheading. When she finally appeared, the ravens cried out in frenzied excitement. She is said to have glanced at them and smiled just before the swordsman swung his blade.
So, if by chance you encounter an unfrighten raven who seems to be calling out to you. Take pause and reflect, for you too, may soon be dead.
My entry for the Raven competition.
So, if by chance you encounter an unfrighten raven who seems to be calling out to you. Take pause and reflect, for you too, may soon be dead.
My entry for the Raven competition.
All writing remains the property of the author. Don't use it for any purpose without their permission.
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23rd Feb 2019 11:39pm
I liked this a lot, Snugglebuck! Vultures, Ravens, Magpies, Crows, all part of nature's clean up crew. Just as snakes have earned a negative connotation, it is the same for the raven.
24th Feb 2019 12:55pm
23rd Feb 2019 11:50pm
23rd Feb 2019 11:53pm
24th Feb 2019 12:56pm
23rd Feb 2019 11:57pm
yeah like one sending me pics of a bag a money.house, etc... yeah right.... like all my problems are solved.
24th Feb 2019 12:55pm
I love you dizzy.
Marry me. All your problems won't be solved but you'll have new more interesting problems to replace them. 💘
Marry me. All your problems won't be solved but you'll have new more interesting problems to replace them. 💘
24th Feb 2019 9:16pm
24th Feb 2019 8:08am
Ravens also fed Elijah in the wilderness and told Noah of the first sight of dry land.
24th Feb 2019 12:52pm
24th Feb 2019 2:19pm
24th Feb 2019 2:58pm
Love this.
Don't get many of the larger blackbirds around my abode, but in the summer there are many of the small ones. Large numbers of starlings and common grackles appear in the late spring and early summer, scavenging the grass behind my house for treats... Until I put down the insecticide!
Don't get many of the larger blackbirds around my abode, but in the summer there are many of the small ones. Large numbers of starlings and common grackles appear in the late spring and early summer, scavenging the grass behind my house for treats... Until I put down the insecticide!
24th Feb 2019 10:53pm
Thanks Regie,
We have both crows and ravens around here. They look similar but they have differences. Ravens tend to be bigger with a more pronounced bill. They also are a lot smarter. They're far more independent and don't flock together like large murders of crows. However, as I've personally witnessed, they group up together in winter to follow timber wolf packs anticipating a kill. As a graduate student I was part of a wolf survey and witnessed it personally.
They also, when domesticated, mimic the human voice like a parrot. So, maybe a Raven did visit Poe crying the message, "Never more!"
We have both crows and ravens around here. They look similar but they have differences. Ravens tend to be bigger with a more pronounced bill. They also are a lot smarter. They're far more independent and don't flock together like large murders of crows. However, as I've personally witnessed, they group up together in winter to follow timber wolf packs anticipating a kill. As a graduate student I was part of a wolf survey and witnessed it personally.
They also, when domesticated, mimic the human voice like a parrot. So, maybe a Raven did visit Poe crying the message, "Never more!"
26th Feb 2019 9:20pm
28th Feb 2019 3:08pm
I like the different perspective you have on this bird and the flow of the poem was so gentle. I like it.
3rd Mar 2019 7:23pm
