{"id":84,"date":"2021-03-30T15:52:50","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T19:52:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.ryerson.ca\/flintandfeather\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=84"},"modified":"2022-02-04T09:08:50","modified_gmt":"2022-02-04T14:08:50","slug":"the-flight-of-the-crows","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/flintandfeather\/chapter\/the-flight-of-the-crows\/","title":{"raw":"The Flight of the Crows","rendered":"The Flight of the Crows"},"content":{"raw":"The autumn afternoon is dying o\u2019er\r\nThe quiet western valley where I lie\r\nBeneath the maples on the river shore,\r\nWhere tinted leaves, blue waters and fair sky\r\nEnviron all; and far above some birds are flying by\r\n\r\nTo seek their evening haven in the breast\r\nAnd calm embrace of silence, while they sing\r\nTe Deums to the night, invoking rest\r\nFor busy chirping voice and tired wing\u2014\r\nAnd in the hush of sleeping trees their sleeping cradles swing.\r\n\r\nIn forest arms the night will soonest creep,\r\nWhere sombre pines a lullaby intone,\r\nWhere Nature\u2019s children curl themselves to sleep,\r\nAnd all is still at last, save where alone\r\nA band of black, belated crows arrive from lands unknown.\r\n\r\nStrange sojourn has been theirs since waking day,\r\nStrange sights and cities in their wanderings blend\r\nWith fields of yellow maize, and leagues away\r\nWith rivers where their sweeping waters wend\r\nPast velvet banks to rocky shores, in canyons bold to end.\r\n\r\nO\u2019er what vast lakes that stretch superbly dead,\r\nTill lashed to life by storm-clouds, have they flown?\r\nIn what wild lands, in laggard flight have led\r\nTheir aerial career unseen, unknown,\r\n\u2018Till now with twilight come their cries in lonely monotone?\r\n\r\nThe flapping of their pinions in the air\r\nDies in the hush of distance, while they light\r\nWithin the fir tops, weirdly black and bare,\r\nThat stand with giant strength and peerless height,\r\nTo shelter fairy, bird and beast throughout the closing night.\r\n\r\nStrange black and princely pirates of the skies,\r\nWould that your wind-tossed travels I could know!\r\nWould that my soul could see, and, seeing, rise\r\nTo unrestricted life where ebb and flow\r\nOf Nature\u2019s pulse would constitute a wider life below!\r\n\r\nCould I but live just here in Freedom\u2019s arms,\r\nA kingly life without a sovereign\u2019s care!\r\nVain dreams! Day hides with closing wings her charms,\r\nAnd all is cradled in repose, save where\r\nYon band of black, belated crows still frets the evening air.","rendered":"<p>The autumn afternoon is dying o\u2019er<br \/>\nThe quiet western valley where I lie<br \/>\nBeneath the maples on the river shore,<br \/>\nWhere tinted leaves, blue waters and fair sky<br \/>\nEnviron all; and far above some birds are flying by<\/p>\n<p>To seek their evening haven in the breast<br \/>\nAnd calm embrace of silence, while they sing<br \/>\nTe Deums to the night, invoking rest<br \/>\nFor busy chirping voice and tired wing\u2014<br \/>\nAnd in the hush of sleeping trees their sleeping cradles swing.<\/p>\n<p>In forest arms the night will soonest creep,<br \/>\nWhere sombre pines a lullaby intone,<br \/>\nWhere Nature\u2019s children curl themselves to sleep,<br \/>\nAnd all is still at last, save where alone<br \/>\nA band of black, belated crows arrive from lands unknown.<\/p>\n<p>Strange sojourn has been theirs since waking day,<br \/>\nStrange sights and cities in their wanderings blend<br \/>\nWith fields of yellow maize, and leagues away<br \/>\nWith rivers where their sweeping waters wend<br \/>\nPast velvet banks to rocky shores, in canyons bold to end.<\/p>\n<p>O\u2019er what vast lakes that stretch superbly dead,<br \/>\nTill lashed to life by storm-clouds, have they flown?<br \/>\nIn what wild lands, in laggard flight have led<br \/>\nTheir aerial career unseen, unknown,<br \/>\n\u2018Till now with twilight come their cries in lonely monotone?<\/p>\n<p>The flapping of their pinions in the air<br \/>\nDies in the hush of distance, while they light<br \/>\nWithin the fir tops, weirdly black and bare,<br \/>\nThat stand with giant strength and peerless height,<br \/>\nTo shelter fairy, bird and beast throughout the closing night.<\/p>\n<p>Strange black and princely pirates of the skies,<br \/>\nWould that your wind-tossed travels I could know!<br \/>\nWould that my soul could see, and, seeing, rise<br \/>\nTo unrestricted life where ebb and flow<br \/>\nOf Nature\u2019s pulse would constitute a wider life below!<\/p>\n<p>Could I but live just here in Freedom\u2019s arms,<br \/>\nA kingly life without a sovereign\u2019s care!<br \/>\nVain dreams! Day hides with closing wings her charms,<br \/>\nAnd all is cradled in repose, save where<br \/>\nYon band of black, belated crows still frets the evening air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":251,"menu_order":15,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[48],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-84","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless"],"part":3,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/flintandfeather\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/84","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/flintandfeather\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/flintandfeather\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/flintandfeather\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/251"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/flintandfeather\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/84\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":306,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/flintandfeather\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/84\/revisions\/306"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/flintandfeather\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/3"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/flintandfeather\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/84\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/flintandfeather\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/flintandfeather\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=84"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/flintandfeather\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=84"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/flintandfeather\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=84"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}