#ravens
Ravens are birds which symbolise freedom,
but what happens when that freedom is dead?
The freedom which keeps us toward no end?
Does our raven die with its wings which will never grow?
Ravens are birds which symbolise death,
but isn't death just a part of life?
Getting yourself stabbed with your own knife?
Things die eventually, until there's nothing left.
Ravens are birds which symbolise wisdom,
both a blessing and a curse with insight,
Or unless you just go with what feels right,
and be yourself rather than follow the system.
Ravens are amazing, they go their own way,
even when the world disagrees with them,
they don't let their experiences weigh,
they carry scars like gems,
worn with pride.
Jan 6
Jan 6, 2026 at 4:50 PM UTC
Let’s be ravens
You and me
Let’s travel the world
Wild and free
Faces to the sun
Winds on our wings
Let’s do it for fun
Till our souls sing
Own the sky
Capture the land
I’ll be by your side
If you’ll take my hand
Let’s be two of a kind
You and me
Let’s live for love
Let’s love to live
Forever in bliss
Forever we’ll be
Aug 28, 2025
Aug 28, 2025 at 4:49 PM UTC
Perched high above the world,
Rests the poet bird.
A lost species,
Of the lonesome raven family.
Who stands among the branches,
Of the bald willow tree.
He weeps,
For lovers in London.
Split by chance,
Which took one to the heavens,
And left the other alone on the Earth.
But when his eyes dry,
Again he will fly.
With somber stories,
Tucked between his tear stained beak.
Jan 16, 2025
Jan 16, 2025 at 1:55 PM UTC
(Haiku)
.
1
Black God
Huge cumulus clouds,
Exploding into the blue,
. . . Shadowed by raven
2
Valley Morn
Dark hands working fields,
Raven tracing mountain crests,
. . . Carnal tillers wake
3
Raven Spell
Dark sound raven makes,
Chortles top fir tree, haunting—
. . . Druids incantation
4
Unfaithful
Snow covers valley—
Solitary raven staining world,
. . . Love has turned black
5
Outcast
Many years alone,
Suddenly— old thoughts of her,
. . . Lone raven in sky
6
Mischief
Lone raven cackles . . .
Clouds splinter across the sky,
. . . Mist cuts down the woods
7
Marked
Full moon crowns tall pine,
Raven landing in cross hairs,
. . . Dark angels halo
8
Loki
Raven knows a charm,
A child's costume jewelry,
. . . Colours a black eye
9
Tall Tale
Zenith of winter—
Lone raven in naked tree,
. . . Spring only legend
10
Dark Angel
In his feathered dress . . .
Raven shrouds beneath the clouds,
. . . Even eyes are black
.
Nov 14, 2021
Nov 14, 2021 at 12:46 AM UTC
We meet again in
the last hour of dawn
deathbed creaking;
ravens croaking;
I said:
not yet, not yet!
my candle flickers -
not yet, not yet!
free your words-
You said:
it’s the eleventh hour;
your pen will bleed-
tear and anger;
your melody will be-
forgotten in the rain;
your scent will linger-
six feet under;
your wisdom will be-
trapped in the quicksand-
of your dear Sisyphus;
your beauty will be-
fed to scavenging worms;
you could have been
a phenomenal maiden.
it’s the eleventh hour
deathbed creaking;
ravens croaking;
too late, too late.
Nov 13, 2020
Nov 13, 2020 at 12:22 AM UTC
Two ebon crows got drunk last night,
Pecked their way into a fight;
Feathers flew as they clawed and cawed,
Till the losing crow pulled a gun in spite.
The other bird flew off in fright,.
Returning with a murderous flock,
And circled the gunner, a fierce gamecock.
They fluttered and feathered in a spree,
Then flipped before two crows winged off.
They returned with hair from a dead man's chest,
And proposed the two should build their nest.
They fashioned tools from human fingers,
Framed the nest with human femurs;
Used two green eyes to glaze windows;
Make a two car garage from the nose.
Are these not two of the smartest crows.
Next they laid out the toes
As hinges to swing their doors closed.
Each crow brought back an ear,
To hang on hinges, front and rear.
They peeled off lips, once used to talk,
And paved a route as their sidewalk.
They yanked out teeth like skilled SS,
To tile bathroom and kitchenette.
Lastly, they peeled back the skin,
And wallpapered their nest,
And lived within.
See what's achieved by two drunk crows,
Who settled their scores
After crow blows.
Oct 24, 2020
Oct 24, 2020 at 11:27 AM UTC
Feathers flown about
Dark Ravens claw their way out
Above the surface past the overbrush
Wretched, drenched, lash
Out to the epitome of darkness
The King, their Lord it is what they harness
Where the light cannot touch
Wriggling, squirming dying to clutch
Time, tied firmly to roots of their own demise
They seek solitude through a long, blistering ride
One too many flew the coop, itching to touch the sky
But home is too far away in a time not solidified
Feathers flow about in search for something new
Ravens lost in mist searching for what was never true
Jun 11, 2020
Jun 11, 2020 at 8:33 AM UTC
From the dead ravens sorrow
Ran the poor mother
Just a small sparrow
No more together
The dead shall rise
And we will be once more
The difference in size
Will be no more
The mother cry’s
The raven caws
The sparrow dies
Locked in a crocs jaws
The mirror I stare in
Before me now
I bare my sin
Bare, upon my brow
I see a raven stand behind
Cloaked in darkness
I am no more
Jan 5, 2020
Jan 5, 2020 at 11:06 PM UTC
Ravens in the snow.
Beauty in its simplest form.
Darkness within light.
Nov 21, 2019
Nov 21, 2019 at 2:55 PM UTC
The unkindness was done to us, but now we are the unkindness.
We are people turned victim turned survivor turned raven,
Grouped together to fight the evil we were violated with.
We are creatures of pain, and we are creatures of protection.
We are creatures of mourning, and we are creatures of empathy.
We are creatures of misery, and we are creatures of wisdom.
And we will croak, caw, warble, and scream
Just so we know we are not alone.
Mar 25, 2019
Mar 25, 2019 at 10:52 PM UTC
Deep in slumber,
Drenched in rain.
She sleeps
Exhausted from pain.
Her heart bleeds,
Emotions enchained.
In chaos
Nothing is gained.
Burning in darkness,
Engulfed in flame.
She can't even remember
Her own name.
A sky filled with ravens,
Visions of a heinous face.
She watched
As her lover fell from grace.
She cried in sorrow,
But, it was in vain.
She woke up to realise
It was that nightmare again!
Tanay Sengupta, Copyright © 2019.
All Rights Reserved.
Feb 21, 2019
Feb 21, 2019 at 12:55 AM UTC
ravens tear at me,
each clinging to their own piece.
rip me endlessly.
Jan 7, 2019
Jan 7, 2019 at 4:38 PM UTC
Two ravens are perched on a tree,
One speaks to Death
And the other is never heard
Jan 3, 2019
Jan 3, 2019 at 3:53 AM UTC
There is one dark light in the firmament
Brewing poison, it hangs watchfully
Waiting with hunger for the first sign of breakage
The first scent of vulnerability
Uncoiling in slippery skilled determination
Seeking ingress, seeking blood
He is the sleight of hand l hung my heart on
The secret lie that skinned my soul
Fall of the house of hope
Gutter liar looking at his next victory
Innocence you will die beneath him
Every touch will rob you of sanctification
In the temple of naïveté he is a streetwise hustler
Born of a killing moon
Drunk on theft as he cuts through defences
Needing fresh meat, hunting game
He is the deceit, the gaslight
The rending of my sacred veil
Fall of the castle of faith
Sleeping well as he has no heart
I had sandcastles in my eyes
Glass lilies in my hands
He nonchalantly crushed them all
Smeared his name across my beauty
And laughed
“Lighten up, baby”
But tides turn and mermaids call
Now the beach is deserted
Storms boil the ocean, purging
I cast his name into the liquid fire
And end this
“Namaste, baby”
There is one dark light in the firmament
Amid clean clouds of evening it coils in contempt
He shall not see me, he shall not touch me
For him, no more my blood
With the screams of ravens l have flown again
Turned from his flowing bitterness
I found a little light of promise
New belief in the budding of me
Resurrecting tomorrow
As l will it so mote it be
Nov 22, 2018
Nov 22, 2018 at 11:03 PM UTC
In the state of Oregon
the roads of air have names of snakes
and there's a smell of music in the air
music of flowers, scent of love.
Even ravens laugh, and cry with laughter
even ravens smell of snakes
and have names of love.
Blossoms cry love and ask for more,
but it's not to come,
because the grey men creep,
and their grey hands reach
my heaven on Earth.
Aug 2, 2018
Aug 2, 2018 at 7:51 AM UTC
Ravens dance upon highwires.
Flashing pinwheels spinning in their beaks.
The merry-go-round grinds,
Its rusted gears, squealing into the wind.
Book pages whirl and fly off into the sky.
The fox’s cry to the butterfly
Went unheard in this whitewashed night.
Jun 22, 2018
Jun 22, 2018 at 11:44 PM UTC
a certain morning stiffness
in your joints
you find your face
in the bathroom mirror
and wish you hadn't
the puzzled wisdom
of middle age
wavers from your eyes
deepening wrinkles
of many laughs
many frowns
how many more?
nevermore ?!
the room becomes aflutter
with poesque ravens
the presence of absences
fills the void
your life is on the brink
of deconstructing itself
to the periphery of the universe
a discourse of silence
forever becoming ... becoming ...
what...?
nevermind!
so
you close your eyes
hard
for a minute or two
when you look again
you meet the stare
of a not-so-bad-looking
man in his best years
graying sideburns
receding hairline
20 pounds too many
BUT
a firm decision
to work them off
still a bit sleepy
yet determined
to shave
get dressed
have breakfast
and teach
that wonderful seminar
on 19th century poetry
to eager graduate students
Mar 10, 2015
Mar 10, 2015 at 4:44 PM UTC
I’m like a knock-off Edgar Allen Poe
But instead of raving about a raven
I croon about a crow
Who comes a-fluttering
And I start my muttering
About I do not need savin’
Mar 24, 2018
Mar 24, 2018 at 5:36 AM UTC
But the lovebirds turned into ravens and heart warmth into heartbreak. The pain felt inexplicable as I crumbled to the floor, face scrunching up to let out a gasp through the heart-wrenching sobs. It was as though someone ripped my heart out of my chest and bore a hole in my mind and soul with no hopes of repair.The future we painted was tinted and washed with the tears that scraped my cheek, that once used to blush. Our love didn’t have a Disney proof happy ending or of the star-crossed lovers that fought by one another’s side.
Visiting areas where we spent time dragged me through memories, attacking my nerves and ravaging upon what was left of my being. The home we built and leveled with intimacy, trust and love reduced to ruins, crumbling and collapsing. It’s like my heart is dying a slow death, shedding hope like leaves every day until there is none. Our love sailed for some time but only to end up shipwrecked. Fragile like the glass that awaited to broken until the shards fit no more.
Defeaned by the repetition of the melancholiac rhythms that soothe my spasming and scorched heart as the beat resonates with my heart and lyrics echoes in my skull. The wound that was cut bleeds deep for there was no scab to heal; endless anguish and agony. The pain felt like a constant ache, a constant stain on the floor and the pillow. But then it came in waves, crashing and enveloping me in its depths, stealing appetite and sleep. Drifting away from the shore where the people lie, I find myself drowning in isolation. Inhaling the heaviness that made me one with the sea.
The echoes of your words in my skull send pulsating self-doubt questions that make me question my worth. “Was he not the one?”. The world seems like it’s going to end and that I will never find love. But instead live with a heart yearning your name and the broken, hollow vessel that I have become.
You changed the way I thought of myself and now I don’t know who I am without you. The world seems to ripped from my arms for I didn’t have you to turn to. No one to catch me; to caress and to soothe. Your face is engraved in my memory, without you, everything seems meaningless. Saturating myself further in dreaded apathy. In a shattered state, I am further tortured in dreams if I were to find sleep in the darkness that consumes the night.
Plastered on a smile and laugh occasionally, when deep down I am longing, drowning and gasping to breathe with your name on my tongue.I mourn the unspoken words while my head hangs heavy in the thought of you, every fiber and cell missing you.
Feb 20, 2018
Feb 20, 2018 at 3:56 AM UTC
You'll catch me by the sidewalk sitting down and rocking
Majority of people look down but keep on walking
They don't understand the pain like electric shocks to the brain
That make you forget your name, what you stand for seems insane
Where chaos reigns and the brave die, it's easy to get lost
Pulled into a vacuum so abyssal the will to live is forgot
Where the blood is Paracetamol, where it hurts like it's physical
Numb like a vegetable yet hungry like a cannibal
Starving where food is plentiful
Dehydrated when you're forgetful
You know you're mental
And it's as smooth as Butter Menthol
Attached to your bed like it's the only safe haven
Wondering if like a ruin, you're broken and breaking
When vultures circle up high and your eyes are gouged by ravens
The dark thick ooze makes you realise... you need saving
May 7, 2017
May 7, 2017 at 7:57 PM UTC
Black feathers signal an arrival
What seemed like endless roads
Carved rugged into the Earth
Beady eyes welcome this moment
Low valley streams, white rapids
Serenely sinister silence of the woods
Two feet, four paws just a blur
Grounded only by a painted beauty
Sun sets, fire rises, that smokey cinder
Eating, laughing, living so free
Stars explode through the tree tops
Night summons an absolute darkness
Blood red dawn, a shadow of the day
Walking now, footsteps, running water
Collecting the goodbyes and good times
Naturally black feathers occupy the vacancy
Apr 30, 2017
Apr 30, 2017 at 12:04 PM UTC