Hiding beneath the sun
was a hovering bird
whose black feathers flamed
and stung from solar flares.
Patiently it burned,
a little and then a lot,
a lot and then a little,
a little and then none.
As the sky turned orange,
its shadow weighed upon the sun,
and the arms of the sun's fading rays.
shooed it into the night.
It devoured stars unseen
in its dark beak,
and perched on the moon
like a king upon his throne.
Deftly, it would swoop,
and the invisible birds of the night
would follow it through dark skies,
and perch upon the Church.
Bird upon bird,
would soil the roof,
pecking at shingles,
scattering them to the ground.
Finally it was seen:
a man with long hair,
a manicured beard:
the object of their desire.
His trench coat sagged about him,
like a statement of faithlessness.
His eyes shimmered blue,
but they would peck at his eyes.
A single bird rested
upon his shoulder,
and the victim smiled
in feigned nonchalance.
Another came swooping,
and its claws tore his coat,
and he battered the bird
with his wide-open hand.
"Nevermore perch
upon my dear self,
begone and leave me
to uppers and wine."
But the birds came in murders
that covered his body,
and he swayed back and forth
batting at them with zeal.
His cool nonchalance,
gave way to a panic,
as birds scratched his face,
his hands, and his clothes.
Tearing his coat,
his shirt, and his pants,
blood was drawn
by their strong corvid claws.
With romance dispensed with,
the birds became vicious,
cawing and clawing
his clothes from his body.
As blood ran like wine
onto the pavement
in front of the church,
he cried out in pain.
Then came the bird
from the sun and the moon,
which cackled a curse,
and then pecked at his eyes.
Blinded in red,
he cried tears of blood
that pooled on his face,
now covered in scratches.
The birds pecked at his skin,
and ate supple flesh
as their beaks struck sinew
and pulled it from bone.
He screamed for his father
dethroned from all reason,
as beaks tore his organs
away from his body.
"I peck at thine eyes,"
the crow did say loudly
as the birds flew away
with the flesh that they won.
The corvid flew up
to a now bloody moon,
and perched as the ruler
of a vociferous night.