Ode To Raven

Listen to Suggested Audio

Beth Gibbons & The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra “Henryk Górecki Symphony No. 3”

I see a raven
Every morning I awaken
It is there
Perched upon my window ledge
With unspoken verse to declare
Knew right away it had something to share
From the very first time it revealed to me
That life and death are much the same
Night and day are simply phases
Light and shade a part of me
That bleeds through every artery
Pumping vital fluids to the very deepest heart of me
I see a raven
Through unspoken verse
It amazes

Unbroken is its stare
Never once have I felt any one thing less than seen
Many would regard this creature harbinger of sorrow
Untimely reminder there exists no tomorrow
That time is something only ever borrowed
The ghost in every tree eventually recedes within its hollow
They don’t see what I see
As my sleepy eyes acclimatize
They don’t feel the low tide of cold comfort washing over me

Chilly is the breeze
As it proceeds to tell its tale
One of generations past
Of vessels setting sail
Voyages of discovery
Recovered from the dead sea scrolls of shipwrecked souls, denied their rightful burial
Ferrying coordinates of each and every passing ship
The sunken lot of each and every general

Ephemeral my transience
I know such to be true
Howbeit, there is very much ado before this pilgrimage concludes
Even then, the river runs
The sun it bleeds
To feed the moon
For somewhere in this endless sea are treasures of the deep
This soul of mine to keep
Regardless of bittersweet truth
That often vows of silence are taken too soon

I see a raven
In my very darkest hour
I see the light in its unbroken stare
I see the cruelty it suffered
I see the pain overcome
I see the ash in its plumage
I see the passion flowers blooming about me
White rabbit in boundless procession
I see the crow to the left of the murder
See it parading devoutly
True to its lineage
Never once craven
For Valhalla resides
In the eye of a raven

Guiding me through very bleakest of mists
When down on my knees
All at sea
I see a raven
This raven perceives I am fading to black
And will not see my final breath slur
Not a word need be uttered in token
Not a silence need ever be broken
To find sanctuary within its unbroken stare

Tranquility in the verse it declares
Sometimes it’s here
Whereas others it’s there
It is everywhere I’ve ever been
Protecting through life
Through the never
Through every bleed
In my very darkest hour
Lights out
I am seen