No raven

I was no Snow White, nor Edgar Alan Poe,

He was no raven, no omen

A friend not a foe

Wore a mask but no trinket he'd stolen

My slumbering eyes opened to a sunny day

Roman shades gleaming in an unnatural way

Then came his usual greeting, he flew up just to say

"Hey"

A gentle familiar rapping

A frequenter of my window pane

I'd even given him a name

Agape

Filled with joy I leapt out of bed

But slowly I noticed a feeling of dread

The sound he was making was far from normal

There was no rap tap but a sound much more horrible

Thud

Thud

Thud

I hurried to the curtains and pulled them back

He rammed himself repeatedly against the glass

I pleaded with him to call off the attack

But he was unable to see he could not pass

Too many times he smashed his small frame

Too many times I pleaded and called out his name

Too many times, too many to be said

Until he dropped, motionless in the grass dead

There he lay tiny, frail and alone

A small life never again to be known

I awoke the next morning in a cold sweat

But the message was one I did not fret

Until later at church I heard the news

A friend made a choice no one should choose

His was a death we'd all regret

I was no Snow White, nor Edgar Alan Poe,

He was no raven, no omen

A friend not a foe

He wore a black mask but was someone I'd know

No trinket he took but a life was stolen

And the black message he brought left us broken