Sunday, January 20, 2008

The Crow

You killed the white bird, not I.
Left her feathers scattered,
Head bit off discarded, body akimbo.
You killed her, not I
The crow shouting ALL ALL ALL.

I know what is and Dumbo's
Feather is just that- and you
And I are just that, say I over the ice shards
That break on the shore over my shouting
ALL ALL ALL.

I leave you to your despair if you wish,
Dear hawk, for you killed the white bird,
Not I sing I ALL ALL ALL!
Not I the unstoppable crow,
Not I sing I.

Commentary: The poem stems from an image in Daniel Dennett's book Freedom Evolves where Dennett uses the image of a crow telling people that all the myths they believe in are just that. Also the other week my son and I spooked a hawk that had just killed a white sea gull near the shore of a local lake. The poor hawk was then hounded by crows as commonly happens.

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