The poem
Crow, feeling his brain slip, Finds his every feather the fossil of a murder.
Who murdered all these? These living dead, that root in his nerves and his blood Till he is visibly black?
How can he fly from his feathers? And why have they homed on him?
Is he the archive of their accusations? Or their ghostly purpose, their pining vengeance? Or their unforgiven prisoner?
He cannot be forgiven.
His prison is the earth. Clothed in his conviction, Trying to remember his crimes
Heavily he flies.
Alas, a guilty conscious. Two hearts he has slain, over and over again. Yes, a long and painful death he felt that seems to agree with his hidden desires.
A truly haunting poem.
Whether it is a wish or a fear, the poem contains an interesting idea: if you do something bad in this life you will come back as an animal, as a form of punishment.
how does thi relate to the other crow poems? this is the best crow poem.