Hey beautiful people! ❤
I’ve recently been engrossed in the literary work of English poet Ted Hughes. He wrote a collection of poems called Crow: From The Life and Songs of the Crow, and this inspired the Haikus written below.
Crows caw, piercing shriek
Flocks of black darken the sky
Congregation roosts
Foraging in groups
Dark shadows under branches
Mask wild toothless grins
Photo by freestocks.org from Pexels https://www.pexels.com/photo/animal-avian-beak-birds-203088/
© 2017-2020 Candy Lebby All Rights Reserved
That is such a well written Haiku. You’re Hella talented :’)
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Thank you very much! I had fun writing it. I appreciate you stopping by 😊
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Nice! I love crows and the ways they’re represented in literature. I’ll have to check Hughes out. Meanwhile, since we’re talking poets, if you haven’t already done so, treat yourself to some Billy Collins, former U.S. Poet Laureate. He’s my all-time favorite contemporary poet and radically changed my poetic style.
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You should! Hughes is one of the greatest literary poets. Or was, he died in 98. Little fact here, he was married to Sylvia Plath and her suicide inspired some of the material in the book. Themes of brutality and the dark energy of death that resides in all life. Not the most merriest of concepts lol but I can appreciate intense literature for what it is.
I will check out Collins, and then see If I can spot the inspiration in your work. Thanks for your comment ☺
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Just remembered this: one of my favorite American novelist/poets, Stephen Dobyns, has a nice little poem-within-a-poem about crows in “Six Poems on Moving” first published in _Griffon_ and collected in _Velocities: New & Selected Poems_, which is permanently perched on my nightstand.
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Ooo! Much check that out now.
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…and your post today has inspired me to try my hand at a crow poem. If I like what I come up with, I’ll reblog you!
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Please do!😃
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Both haikus conjure up sinister elements with powerful imagery; the second seems to mock itself in a playful way.
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I see what you mean with the second though it was unintentional! Thank you for reading 😊
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Intentional or not it was badass! It worked really, really well.
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Aw thank you so much Benjamin (you share my son’s name btw 😆😊)
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Really? I’m honored.
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It’s a lovely name ☺
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Benjamin is also my father’s name. So I consider myself in good company.
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Ahh. Yes indeed. I find many Benjamin’s to be wise and humble. In my experience ☺ A solid Biblical name too.
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Exactly! It has sort an Old Testament feel to it.
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Great writes and loved learning the inspiration behind them!
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Glad you did Christy! You should check out Hughes if you get a chance. His work is fascinating ☺
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We are so lucky that he inspired you. Amazing haikus
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Well thank you Drew☺ how’s your week going?
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Snow storm here today, but other than that it is great. Thanks for asking. Hope you are well.
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Ahh. Stay warm and safe. I’m Ok, currently waiting on my homemade carrot cake to finish cooking so yummy times.
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Enjoy
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Thank You! 🙂
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Great haikus.
Whenever I think of crows, I think of the painting of fields and skies of dark crows that Vincent Van Gogh painted just before his death.
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Thank you☺
I think that painting is fascinating. The menacing sky, crows soaring high, and the dead end path- representing the rapidly approaching end of his life.
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Yes when you realize what happened next after he painted that, the imagery becomes quite terrifying.
Especially since in many mythologies in the world, crows were seen as harbingers of death.
In poor Vincent’s case, it turned out to be true.
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Yes, and that’s why multiple crows together are called ‘a murder’. Such a strange way to name a group of animals! An example of their dark, haunting reputation.
Van Gogh was incredibly troubled, and I think he depicted the sense of loniless and solitude he felt prior to his dead, with artistic dignity.
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Yes, I think that’s very very true.
I like that phrase “he depicted the sense of loneliness and solitude he felt prior to his death with artistic dignity”.
Because that’s exactly what he did.
Just as he painted everything and everyone with artistic dignity- the poor, the working classes, sunflowers and daffodils, starry starry nights, Parisienne street cafes and the prostitutes who walked the evening streets of Paris.
All he captured with a sense of artistic dignity.
Being able to see the transcendent in people and things that the world considered mundane or of not much intrinsic value.
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Ugh your comment ☺let’s both work on an essay about this it would be so vibrant 😊
But seriously you’re absolutely right. I wish their were more people like him. The world’s ‘trash’ was his treasure and he etched his love for the downtrodden with a poignancy I’ve not seen anywhere else.
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I love Haikus and you painted this picture so well lovely! Way to match up the verse and words to thoughts, these are not easy.❤️❤️🌹🌹. Bravo!!
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Thank you☺💕
I had fun playing around with the words and thoughts surrounding the inspiration for the poems.
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You’re so welcome❤️🌹
To have fun shows you have passion for it, that’s great to hear. I love your imagination, so intriguing.💕🃏
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And I love your comments. Brighten my morning ☺
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Your poetry warrants my comments Sunshine. You too are a day brightener! 🌹
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😊💕
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😊🃏🌹
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I loved your Haikus. 😱👏
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Thank you sweety 😗💕
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Crows are associated with sinister ideas like death in many cultures. In our part of India, there is a belief that dead ancestors visit you, on a particular day, in the form of crows. On that day, we feed crows with cooked rice. It is weird but many people do take it seriously. Human imagination has given crows a mysterious reputation. Maybe because they have wild toothless grins.
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I didn’t know that, thanks for the cultural knowledge about India. It’s true many do take these dark associations seriously.
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Amazing! Unparallel! I am speechless!
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I appreciate those very kind words! Thank you! ☺
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My pleasure.
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