Caw
/Erin Ratigan
They came to the garden
looking for the peanuts
I have tucked away
in a place where the squirrels
won’t see them,
and upon their arrival
my mother cheers
and quietly
sneaks out to join them
in their revelry
calling to them
in something as close
to their language
as witches can approximate.
She jokes that she is crazy
but how dull it would be
not to try to commune
with the corvids, their
feathers shining like her spirit
as she smiles to the sky.
Author’s Statement: In writing "Caw" I sought to share my observation of nature through a child's eyes –– namely, how I grew up watching my mother speak to the crows in our front garden. Seeing her commune with nature by attempting to speak their language (albeit through mimicry) I am reminded of old-world traditions and the association between crows and witches. The moments she shares with the crows, therefor, speak of the magic present in everyday life when we seek to share something special with others. Even if those others are not of our own species.
Erin Ratigan is a freelance writer and journalist with a focus on long form and narrative news features. Her poetry has appeared in multiple publications including Door is a Jar Literary Magazine and POETiCA REViEW, and in the nature anthology Echoes of the Wild. She lives in North Texas.
