Waking to Crow

by Cameron Withey

The sound of Crow's harsh
persistent cawing, as I
wake from the fuzzy dreamland
of daytime sleep –
a sound of course saying
"wake up, wake up"
even as the sun sets on the day
dark cedar glowing up in orange
through the open curtains
and these crows hollering
to the center of my mind
"way-caw! way-caw!"
Is the world backwards?
I ask them, dreams turned
upside down? They've been speaking
from the branches my whole life;
again my ears have changed.
Something seems forgotten
and a small black winged thing
is speaking its name
"caw caw, caw caw"
a marble in its beak.

Currently Program Director, Cameron has held many roles since he began with Journeys in 2011. He enjoys observing crow culture through the windows of Journeys' U-District office.