Large Fierce Mammal

“Upon further examination, we found a trap – a steel trap dating back to the time when the Hudson Bay Company ran things around here. Rusted and busted this trap was embedded in the mesa’s dirt for centuries. We looked it over and left it laying there. We never remove anything from its resting place. Its a good policy to adopt when you’re out. Nothing can follow you home that way either such as a bad spirit or elemental. As Indians we know that things often ‘find you’ versus you finding them. This is thusly a trap of a metaphysical type and must be avoided. Old worthless things are just that in all reality. Only the greedy shuwapo find such stuff worthy of toting off.” ~ James A Keating

I’ve written before of Crows, their wondrous personification of irony, and affinity for the splendid gifts of human folly, most notably here. Today’s public service announcement is a continuance of sorts, inspired by the passage quoted above penned by my Esteemed Friend Jim Keating with whom I share the dark sentiment of not dragging home everything that snags your boot laces.

Lost and Found

By LFM

The Crow is immune to the curses of men,
And seeks where they’re hidden in forest and fen.
No matter what horrors put things where they lie,
Matters not to the Crow, for he never asks why.

Things steeped in their story, the how and the why,
May lie there unseen by the mere passer by,
While flotsam and jetsam of human travail
Are revealed to the Crow in minutest detail.

Few free for the taking, most best left alone,
With the fates of their bearers who’ve yet to atone,
Things may be abandoned or take their own leave,
To find their repose both to hide and deceive.

Some there find contentment in burrowing deep,
Except for those ones with a promise to keep,
That lie in their patience and wait to be found
By one who’s entwined and unknowingly bound.

Such things aren’t discovered, they’ve really found you,
So think of the Crow in whatever you do.
You share not his shield to the curses of men —
Just answer with memory, picture, and pen.