Raven

Joe Strickland 1986 (Hobbysville, SC)



In the darkest night,
When all else is still,
The raven takes flight,
With secrets to fulfill.

Black as coal,
Its feathers gleam,
A creature of the soul,
With secrets unseen.

In the folklore of old,
The raven was a sign,
Of fortune or misfortune unfold,
A bird of both light and dark to bind.

For like a man,
The raven is both good and bad,
A balance of yin and yang,
Its secrets all too sad.

The raven understands,
The value of secrecy,
For in a world of shifting sands,
Retaining balance is key.

A man too is like the raven,
A creature of darkness and light,
His secrets hidden in a haven,
Balanced in his might.

To retain one's secrets,
Is to hold power within,
For only the raven knows the depths.
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Written on May 16, 2023

Submitted by JoeStrickland on May 16, 2023

50 sec read
13

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CXCX DXDX XEXE FGFG HAHA XXX
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 707
Words 166
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3

Joe Strickland

I'm just a regular, blue collar, working stiff who took an interest in writing poetry many years ago but until recently I haven't had a desire to share any with anyone or pursue publication. I'm an unpublished fork lift operator by night, and a day drinker by choice. I can be followed on Twitter @JoeStricklandSC more…

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    "Raven" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/159529/raven>.

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