This is the first poem in a series still not quite completed. Although the rest of the series needs to be read as a single entity, this one works as a standalone piece.
Crows are unsettling.
They make eye contact with you,
Like all their kind:
Rooks, magpies, jackdaws and their ilk,
Black-eyed, mocking, wind-flicked feathers,
Watching you from high branches,
Scattered trees, lone rocks and open fields.
Krra icily in the harshest breeze.
They could be smart, dark-suited undertakers,
Clearing up dead bodies or
Smug bankers, lounging in the hotel bar with
After-dinner drinks, bragging raucously.
Crows solve problems, are wary, learn,
And remember you.
They may reward kindness
With coins and pieces of glass,
With golf balls, or feathers.
But crows make up murders.
They hold grudges and will plot your destruction
If you cross them.
Mick Canning 
I’m more sanguine when it comes to crows, but I like the poem. I was stopped by ‘krra’ — is that a Celtic word, or a Britishism? I’ve never come across it before.
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Neither – it’s just the sound the crow makes!
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Great poetry. I will be wary of crows from now.
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Thanks, Ishaan.
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You’re welcome sir.
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In great form Mick!
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Thanks, Damyanti!
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Love that,
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Thanks so much, John!
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Lovely and so truly said about crows. I get to hear them cawing at their top of their voices everyday at my window ledge and they are waiting for me to give them something to eat. The moment I give them rice they will be calling their friends and they are all happy. I have kept water also for them. In India it is very, very hot at this time of the year. So with pigeons and crows they come every day.
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Thanks, Kamal. Yes, at this time of year they must really struggle to find food and, especially, water. Good on you for doing that!
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You are welcome Mick but they make a commotion if I do not give them food or water. They have become a part and parcel of my life and feels so nice to be doing so.
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Yes, once they know you’re putting out food and water they’ll be back regularly. And I’m sure they make a fuss if it’s not all there waiting for them!
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Yes, yes and what a noise it is deafening even after saying shoo, shoo they are not bothered but at times have to drive them away but will come back with their cawing. This is how I enjoy their company everyday when I go to my kitchen to cook, Mick.
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I think they will be coming to you forever, now!
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Yes Mick. I also have a golden retriever and a tortoise and these lovely birds are added more to them too. Have a lovely day.
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Thank you, Kamal. Have a great day, too.
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Welcome Mick.
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They are lovers of fruits too and pounce when I give them watermelon, marshmelon, papaya.
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I think I would do, too! I love those as well!
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Same here and pulpy fruits are any day better to eat.
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Great poem! I think of such critters as crows a bit differently, though. If they make eye contact, I hold the glance and speak softly, understandingly, not feeling a threat, but rather a reaching out, a desire for contact, for understanding.
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Thanks, Jill. They are highly intelligent, by all accounts. Only a threat if you persecute them, of course.
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I don’t know why crows have been associated with evil and paranormal. Is it because it is black in color?
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I’m sure it is, Arv.
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Although I can’t stand their singing, I can’t help but get a kick out of crows, I love a good intelligent villain, especially if they drop off a golf ball or coin once in a while.
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A good intelligent villain – that’s a good description of them.
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Really good words Mick and so evocative of those black suited scoundrels. Must admit to not being a huge fan of the crow cult as I suspect they are taking over the world behind our backs. Seem to be vaguely organised ……
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Highly organised, Jonno. Be very afraid!
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Crows always remind of guards on duty! I try not to cross them either!
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Very wise, Jan.
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Lovely! Many years ago I moved to a house and would get woken up every morning by a bunch of squawking crows. One morning, I had had it. I threw off the bedcovers and went to the window to find out why they did this every morning. Well, our neighbor had a chicken coop and I saw a fox being run off by the group of crows. They were protecting the chickens! They really are everything you write about and more.
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Thanks, Kim. They are remarkable birds. Very intelligent.
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Great poem. We are hundreds of crows around our village. Best keep the doors locked.
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Double locked, if you can. They’re clever buggers.
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I’m ambivalent about crows. On the downside there’s that raucous call, sometimes magnified by a big flock. On the upside they’re smart and adaptive, and actually are kind of handsome up close. And they have other vocalizations too, not nearly so harsh.
We had one coming by for a little while last summer. We’d leave out bread crumbs for whatever bird or squirrel came along, and this one would gather up a big beak full then fly over to the birdbath and soak the lot in water. Babies, maybe?
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I think they’re fantastic. As you say, smart and adaptive. And I rather like the raucous calls; a little harsh in some settings, but in areas such as moorland or in hills so atmospheric.
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