Thomas Hall
The Raven and the Magpie
Opened the curtains, there they were, on the fence
six yards away; one raven, one magpie;
this was unexpected, unpleasant
I had an uneasy feeling about these birds,
that I shouldn’t have witnessed this fraternisation
this mud doing.
They looked directly at me, fearless, dull,
contemptuous - as in a viable threat
refused to leave, until they were ready.
Eventually, they flew off
closed knowledge under their wings,
I felt the dread of a sky left empty.
Our area is magpie owned, always two together
vivid statements
of disrespect and colour blindness
on the move, through windows, for baubles that glitter
their gruff singing, like bones cracked open.
The ravens visit less often
their manifestation more reason to stare;
recently I watched them, descend from nowhere
land with precision on a neighbour’s roof
a gang of fat hands, cornering the neighbourhood
the sound of roof tiles smashing.
These uncalled of the air, these thorny grievances
bring to mind something long forgotten
a suspicion, a dark age corner
carrying with them the weight of wise women
the unhappiness of clouds that never settle
looks - so deadly, daylight dare not move.
Page(s) 41
magazine list
- Features
- zines
- 10th Muse
- 14
- Acumen
- Agenda
- Ambit
- Angel Exhaust
- ARTEMISpoetry
- Atlas
- Blithe Spirit
- Borderlines
- Brando's hat
- Brittle Star
- Candelabrum
- Cannon's Mouth, The
- Chroma
- Coffee House, The
- Dream Catcher
- Equinox
- Erbacce
- Fabric
- Fire
- Floating Bear, The
- French Literary Review, The
- Frogmore Papers, The
- Global Tapestry
- Grosseteste Review
- Homeless Diamonds
- Interpreter's House, The
- Iota
- Journal, The
- Lamport Court
- London Magazine, The
- Magma
- Matchbox
- Matter
- Modern Poetry in Translation
- Monkey Kettle
- Moodswing
- Neon Highway
- New Welsh Review
- North, The
- Oasis
- Obsessed with pipework
- Orbis
- Oxford Poetry
- Painted, spoken
- Paper, The
- Pen Pusher Magazine
- Poetry Cornwall
- Poetry London
- Poetry London (1951)
- Poetry Nation
- Poetry Review, The
- Poetry Salzburg Review
- Poetry Scotland
- Poetry Wales
- Private Tutor
- Purple Patch
- Quarto
- Rain Dog
- Reach Poetry
- Review, The
- Rialto, The
- Second Aeon
- Seventh Quarry, The
- Shearsman
- Smiths Knoll
- Smoke
- South
- Staple
- Strange Faeces
- Tabla Book of New Verse, The
- Thumbscrew
- Tolling Elves
- Ugly Tree, The
- Weyfarers
- Wolf, The
- Yellow Crane, The