Welcome to Poetry Friday! Happy Thanksgiving. This week we are hosted by Ruth at:
http://thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
Thank you Ruth for hosting! I have so enjoyed her poems and her wide knowledge about birds that is found on her blog.
I’ve had a quiet holiday with just my husband, Bart and our son, Matt. Maybe that’s why I have so many leftovers!
Last week I bought a book with a title I couldn’t resist:
I posted two weeks ago about Ravens and Halloween. But I am posting again about ravens because there is more to say after reading more about these very old, very smart birds.
The first of the ten birds in Moss’s book that “changed the world” is the Raven, the largest member of the crow family, with it’s large “pick-ax” bill, iridescent black feathers and remarkable call. This bird has at times helped and then hindered human efforts to survive. They’ve been loved and hated through the centuries.
Moss tells us:
For human and animal hunters, their ability to fly made them assets to survival.
“Only the raven can reconnoitre a large area of ground, locate potential prey and then return to guide the hunters towards the target.”
SYMBOSIS Wolves. Ravens. Early man— hunting buddies for thousands of years. Ravens flew to spot prey. Swift wolves rushed off to the scene, heeding raven intelligence, as did humans: a happy threesome. © Janice Scully 2023
The raven’s fortunes, good and bad, have been in no small part determined by humans. To ancient Norsemen, they were seen as helpers to the Norse God Odin. But after hunting and gathering was left behind, ravens became pests to farmers and herdsmen, eating crops and attacking animals. Humans nearly exterminated them.
Today, ravens flourish. They are almost everywhere, clever enough to survive in diverse habitats.
THE FORTUNES OF THE RAVEN
Ancient Norsemen celebrated
black feathered, bold beaked ravens
that served as the thoughts and memories
of their one-eyed god, Odin.
But when humans discovered farming,
they nearly rid the world of these pests
gobbling their grain.
In plague times, Ravens helped
clear the streets of the dead.
The more the merrier.
A boon to public health.
but later herders battled ravens
that threatened new born animals,
and livelihoods.
Today, birdwatchers admire their call
and clever sky antics.
Numbers have exploded!
Humans change.
Ravens hope for the best.
© Janice Scully 2023
I haven’t finished the book yet but look forward to learning about the extinct dodo, pigeons, the bald eagle, penguins and more. I appreciate lately more than ever my love of reading and the peace it brings me as I curl up with a good book.
Have a great weekend!