Crow dreams an eerie peacefulness laced with fear

And wakes, trembling at the emptiness of it, the vast cavities

And begs God to squeeze him, to crush out the air of protest

The wind carrying a hornet’s nest buzzing is the only response

He chews on the answer until it’s dark on both sides,

Until it cracks

Then builds a raft from the sound and floats out on the melody

Chanting—

Begin with the body, itself a kind of ending

Begin with the blood, rivered from doubt