RITUALS

The scratching of a hundred
scaly claws on the roof

at 5am, a coven of chattering
crows rips the membrane

between puffs of shallow night-
breathing and the ruckus

of morning. Is it the jewelry
of the Goddess Ostara they drag

across shingles, jasper
and moonstones set in silver,

not just talons and twigs,
as they engage in avian rites

to tilt the tenuous balance
from winter to spring?

-Audrey Friedman


Back