CROW
CROW flew just once
in a straight line
the hooded one
living in my garden
straight as a shoulder-fired missile
brought down the escaping harrier
seen circling CROW-EMPIRE
rammed it side-on
knocked it spinning out of the blue
stunned
the red bird fell tumbling to earth
and out of sight
for entertainment CROW plays with the wind –
CROW soars and tumbles
circles and zigzags
CROW dives and darts
and drops
and dances
like a scrap of windblown blackbag liner
in spite of all that straight as the crow flies propoganda
but today's the long grey day
when echoing silence reigns
so CROW won't fly this day
he'll simply sit in his tree
with his silver eyes blinking
• Gwilym Williams says “Oh yeah, about me: I was in the Boat House, Laugharne, where Dylan Thomas used to live, when a poltergeist tried to bash me with a curtain pole. Thinking it was a message from the other side, I decided to pen the odd verse or two as a kind of insurance. I'm just on the right side of 60 and I'm a retired cop.”
