Crow lore ~ for my nephews

 The Crow is not a songbird 

but if you listen carefully 

you will sometimes hear them gurgle 

contentedly, or give a sort of murmur 

while feeding in a flock

 (they call a murder)

Crows have a raucous call at times

loud and over powering 

when frightened or disturbed 

definitely not a songbird 

(that chorus of sweet singers

whose music opens sleepy eyes in May)

The Crow likes to squawk

The Crow has panache 

if you watch how they walk

with a Jurassic sway

descended from the dinosaurs they say.


write a poem in which you take your title or some language/ideas from The Strangest Things in the World. First published in 1958, the book gives shortish descriptions of odd natural phenomena, and is notable for both its author’s turn of phrase and intermittently dubious facts.




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