Author's Note: This poem refers to a scene in Crackbunny Syndrome's post-series AU novel Balance of Power (a link to which is available on my profile page) in which Ed discovers that he's attracted the favorable attention of a raven … and possibly also the favorable attention of Raven, a trickster figure in the folklore of several Native American peoples (cf. Coyote). This could be a good thing or a bad thing -- but it's definitely an interesting thing, in the Chinese-curse sense …
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Every raven knows Raven, thief
And trickster -- is Raven,
sometimes:
Gods know not knowing's a relief;
Want's simpler --
food, sex, shiny dimes --
Fly, roost, wait for it --
For
what?
Wait
Till want's darling comes walking by,
Plastic
toggles bobbing like bait
In sun-bright hair. Claw free the
tie;
Dodge the steel fingers' counterclaim.
No matter how cheap
or tiny,
What's his he'll hold, come wind, come rain.
That's
why Raven
sees you,
wants you,
hunts you,
dogs you
--
you're so shiny.