Dead Crow Walking
Why do crows walk off asphalt when they can fly
away from carrion
and car
to road’s edge?
Is it just corvid attitude,
roadkill carnivore conduct,
that fuck-you-I’m-eating-here-can’t-you-see
frame of mind,
keeping flight neatly packed in their wings
as a last resort?
Why do crows scream in the early morning when they can be sleeping
cawing caw, caw, coffee-less
in the dim
morning light?
Is it corvid humour,
stand-up crow comedy,
that nothing-is-sacred
view of funny,
leaving common courtesy asleep in their nests
hours before sunrise?
Why do crows fly circles around their dead when they can lament on tree limbs
a show of force and family
for fallen
Corvus comrades?
Is it airborne avian funerary rights,
of swept up carcasses
in blackened wings,
of grief sharpened beaks
roosting in bold banded bereavement
keeping vigil for predators?
Why do crows walk off asphalt?