The Crows
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Crows gather in trees and the wind blows them
away, their black cries catching the air like
wings. I watch the line they make: a dark hem
against frail branches, stitches so unlike
the raucous perseverance of the birds.
Their colors blend as they move near the sun,
they catch my eye and circle me like words
seem to do, lists and poems, an endless sum
of alphabets that swarm o’er the page in
dark rainbows, these crows I cage between blue
lines. But have I caught them (triumphant grin),
or have they caught me, their wings swirling through
my throat and my heart, my smooth shoulder blades?
It is all the same, and they whirl away.
Avery Olund-Smith, Copyright 2010
Used with Permission
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Thank you to our fabulous nieces, Avery and Lydia who, as you can see, are both quite talented; the poem was written by Avery, a freshman at Indiana University in Bloomington. Both pieces of artwork were done by Lydia, now a sophomore at the Cincinnati School for the Performing Arts. The pumpkin picture was done when Lydia was about 8 years old; the witch picture was done when she was 5 or 6 – these girls just make us smile and laugh and we love them both!
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Happy Halloween!
Yep. Talent there for sure. Thanks for sharing.
Please tell Avery that her poem is quite moving! As an MFA-Creative Writing student, I read my fair share of poetry, and her poem was one of the best I’ve read this semester! And I just loved seeing the Halloween pictures too. Isn’t it fun to look back at old school/art drawings? Your nieces are some talented girls! (but I’m not surprised considering who their aunt is!)
They are super talented! Great pics!
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Oh, Debra, I love it! The pictures are just wonderful and if I had received these I would keep them in a special place and always within easy reach. The poem is lovely. You must be proud of them.
Talent is right! Wow! Thank you for sharing!
I love your nieces poem! Especially the last stanza. How cute that you used artwork from when they were younger. Great post love!!
Both the pics and the poem are lovely! I especially like that top picture. I could see that hanging in my kitchen! She’s obviously displayed talent from a young age. Did you know a group of crows is called a murder? Also, we watched this intriguing documentary about crows – they’re actually really intelligent…one of the few creatures who can create and use tools…and they can recognize human faces and remember them. So maybe your niece’s poem is right on the mark! Thanks for the halloween fun!
Maybe I will have to take some time off doing homework tonight to write a halloween poem… sounds a lot better to me than doing Physics, anyway! Love seeing these pieces together– thanks for publishing me, Aunt Debra! : )
Beautiful poem, and beautiful pictures!
Avery and Lydia, you two ladies are very talented. 🙂 Hope that during college, you continue to find time for your creative outlets (it’s what kept me sane through those years). Also, barter. Don’t let your aunt use these works of art unless she and your uncle offer to cook something delicious in return.
Happy Halloween!
[K]
!! I’m so glad they worked out =D
Happy Halloween Arbed, love you so much.
Very cute pics. 🙂 I mentioned you on my latest post. http://www.bunkycooks.com/2010/10/blogging-awards-saturday/ Have a spook and fun Halloween!
They are both very talented and all of this artwork is perfect for your site. It’s funny, when I saw the pumpkin picture and it said “by Debra” I thought you painted it. I thought, ‘Wow, she’s really talented!’ Now, I’m even more impressed 😉