when ravens cry

You are a raven
Against a blank sky

The earth hides her colours
From you while you hide
Your true Self from her

Your soul sighs behind a
Prison of your own making
Pacing back and forth

In your tired eyes
A prisoner, wrongly imprisoned
Crying out for freedom

Your soul’s cry falls on
Deaf ears in the silence
Of your eyes

The ravens gather in the fields
Under grey skies they come
To hear your soul’s lament:

‘Oh please set me free’
‘Let me walk through the fields’
‘In bare feet, my arms wide open’
‘Embracing the sun’

The ravens bow their heads
They know permission
Will not come

Until the best part
Of your youth and strength
Have passed away

And your limbs have
Gone to sleep; your
Spirit deflated

Because it knows you
Could have been great had
You acted without permission

And set your soul free
To be alive, to be wild,
To wander and enjoy life
For life’s own sake

Greatness is not so rare
But rare is the courage
To live life full of
Passion and grace

The ravens fly
Away one by one
Against a blank sky

To J.

– c.lowe

7 Comments

  1. CathyK June 24, 2007 at 3:17 pm

    Wow! Clay, just wow. I don’t have the words. I love this one.

    Reply
  2. darlene June 24, 2007 at 7:25 pm

    this is amazing write!
    fantastic!!

    Reply
  3. Soulcruzer June 24, 2007 at 11:07 pm

    Hi Darlene,

    Thanks for your lovely comments and thanks for stopping by.

    Peace,
    Clay

    Reply
  4. Lew Weinstein June 25, 2007 at 8:58 am

    Beautiful thoughts … beautifully written.

    There is perhaps nothing worse than being wrongly imprisoned, and it happens far too often.

    It is a serious blemish on the American criminal justice system that too many prosecutors abuse their power, and get away with it.

    I have just published my 2nd novel, “A Good Conviction,” which features a detective from Manhattan North Homicide working to untangle what appears to be a wrongful conviction in a high profile Central Park murder, brought about by a prosecutor who knew the defendant was actually innocent and hid the exculpatory evidence that would have led to a not guilty verdict.

    Several prosecutors and appeals attorneys helped me with the legal aspects of a Brady appeal in New York State, and all of them agreed that what I portrayed was both realistic and all too possible.

    If you go to my amazon.com page …

    … you can learn more about my novel and others’ reaction to it.

    LEW WEINSTEIN

    Reply
  5. Adria June 26, 2007 at 2:25 pm

    LOVE this.

    Reply
  6. gautami June 29, 2007 at 4:15 am

    “Greatness is not so rare
    But rare is the courage
    To live life full of
    Passion and grace”

    I wholly agree with those lines. Excellent poem, Clay. Great photo too.

    Reply

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