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| Esssence |
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Within the darkened heart and soul
'pon branches draped with ebon stole
The murders of the woods convene
'midst jostling form and strident scream

A snatch of wings, a flash of eye
A raucous throat-rip of a cry
A flurry of black plumage sheened
with mauve, from wyrden essence gleaned

Bright ruby sight and empty eye
shreds veils of falsehood and espies
the Truth, past mortals' hind'ring curse
of self-delusion, far immersed

Of wings and feathers graced by Night
Four-fold the pinions infinite
Each blessed with Mem'ry, Sorrow, Thirst
and Spirit, Crow's true quintessence!

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| Shadowkin |
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I dart and seep and weave
the tapestry of forest floor
from cover to cover, shroud to shroud
I ghost
in silence, unseen
and the shadows call, each siren song
drawing me closer, ever closer
into their glorious embrace
entwined beneath the wyrd-veined leaves
like lovers in the night, their caresses
upon my insubstantial feathers
enveloping my form, but it is
a mere momentary distraction
the yearning grows, becomes unbearable
and forces me to flow on, seeking the source
of the eternal rhythm that resonates to my core
I circle
the fallen feathers of my k'z'ian'i
they of the flesh, of the voice, of the flight
enmeshed in body, yet freed to the skies
a promise of that which is denied to me
I of neither Crow nor Night
but in between, a pathless shade
cast adrift to wander; but what is this?
a finespun gossamer webbing strange
sighs down upon me, whisp'ring, compelling, and
I rise
from the ground at last, my substance bound
in strands of ink-wet night, familiar cradle
of shadows and darkness, and with me
the feather, lingered overlong, chance-caught
savour of fancy, and the glory of flesh-brothers
in their element crystallised in proximity
and behold! before me the throbbing of my soul
is echoed in the Drums, and
I rejoice
joining the shadowkin, my true brethren
in the exultant beat, leaving behind
upon the ebony feather
the sorrow and thirst, spirit and memory
of unrequited dreams.