It’s noon on New Year’s Day and the Gang of Five are sweeping in and out of the huge Sweet Gum tree in the front yard. The Gang of Five, as I term this group, are a Murder of Crows and their five feathered members rule the skyways of the neighborhood in which I live. Princes of darkness, air traffic controllers, sly squadron companions, explorers of every iota they survey: their shiny plumage absorbs all light and casts back a radiant intelligence that dares any living creature to match wits. They are a team, tightly bound though loosely congregated, and they work their ways with a casual savoir faire that fools the foolish and is fatal to the unwary. I see them, first perching on rooftops, then on tree branches, now strutting across the lawn. I hear them, right this moment, as their brash calls smash through the windows of my room, even sealed as they are against the winter air. I feel their vital energies, this pentagram force, as they swoop and soar, dive and drop, all the while confident that one of them, one point of their star, stays alert and guards against any enemy.
What do these Corvids have to say about 2016?
Today’s a good day to eat the innards of this run-over cat
To pull burger leftovers from the dumpster
To bask in the sun
To play games with friends
To roost high in trees
No resolutions about eating less fast food or getting more exercise, nor to somehow become a better bird. Self-improvement is second to survival: stick with the gang, use those vocal cords, eat more intestines, have fun now, never become bored.
I think my resolution today is to emulate the Gang of Five and come to know them better. I like their style and I think of Walt Whitman’s words:
“I think I could turn and live with the animals, they are so placid and self contained;I stand and look at them long and long.They do not sweat and whine about their condition;They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins;They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God;Not one is dissatisfied-not one is demented with the mania of owning things;Not one kneels to another, nor his kind that lived thousands of years ago;Not one is responsible or industrious over the whole earth.”
Play more, shout, stick together, don’t be a picky eater, watch everything, trust one’s companions, get a good night’s sleep. Perhaps it is enough. Welcome to the journey of 2016.
One is for bad news, two is for mirth
Three is a wedding, four is a birth
Five is a journey...
