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The Girl With Eyes As Black As Crows

On that night the moon seemed hidden from her starry brothers
The kind of night not suited for the fighters nor the lovers
I ventured out only to put out the low burning lamp
When there I saw a strange sight-
A wild and deranged sight
O it surely was a strange sight i saw lying in the dark and damp

I crept with caution as my thick boots crunched the gathering frost
The sky was a deeper purple as more light was slowly lost
Just above the horizon the light from the moon shone a single pearl
And I had to accept it
Yes, I had to accept it
Unable to reject it this; this lost and broken girl

Lying curled into herself and shivering in her too thin clothes
Clinging to life lay the girl with hair and eyes as black as crows
What would I do if it was my neglect that decided she would not live
I could not leave her here could I?
But I shouldn’t take her in should I?
But I could not leave her there could I? This was a sin they would not forgive.

Beneath an unforgiving moon that watched me from the darkened sky
I bit my tongue and held her close and rejoiced- she did not die
Back to health i restored this daughter of the night though to me she spoke no words
What will I do when they find her here
Because deep down I know they will find her here
O how to keep her safe when they find her here, that black eyed girl who speaks to birds

In this village town there are only two roads and my home rests far from both
I kept her here hidden from the townspeoples eyes as I watched and feared her growth
The crows never left now- not from my roof, my trees nor my skies
I know they followed her here
And I know they all confer here
Why must they follow her here, the girl with the blackness in her eyes.

I kept here in hiding as her twisted tongue learned more
She spoke to snakes and spiders but to me only stared, blank, at the floor
Some might find this telling of some evil deep and sure
But she was only good to me
Yes only ever good to me
I was to her, and her to me, but the town folk had noticed her


Winding through the pines we trod to find the nearest road
Just my horse and I, to get supplies, so into the town I rode
The town was ghostly quiet as it always was but with something wrong
I could feel them watching
From their windows some were watching
It was me that they were watching as I made my way along

The clerk was my target but the priest was where I struck
Barring my way quite subtly as he claimed our run-in “luck”
His eyes were cold and stormy concealing nothing of his heart
But what he said was chilling
To my deepest bones was chilling
His hands they reeked of killing as he asked of a strange girl seen near these parts

My countenance kept icy and my throat I cleared with pride
I informed the Father quickly that nothing had been spied
I met his eyes with calmness and he met mine with fire
For her safety alone I lied
She’s a stranger and I lied
Oh he knew that I lied, but called me good, and trusted me not a liar

I hurried from the priest and grabbed my flour and candlewax 
On a whim I thought foretelling I purchased a new and sharpened axe
His eyes seared my insides as he glared from the chapel gate
My eye was steely and steady
My words had been hard carved and ready
I was completely steady, but still he knew, and I was too late.

I rode along at just a trot until out of the small town’s sight
As soon as they could not see me I cracked the reins to my horse’s fright
The air was numbing my white gripped hands and the horse was caked in mud
I had to go faster
We had to go faster
Oh to outrun the old bastard, a man of God that wanted blood

I arrived to the sight of hundreds of crows and of snakes that slithered and hissed
The black eyed girl sat staring with serpents language on her lips
I grabbed her hand and dragged her in from the ocean of evil at shore
I barricaded the doors
I heard the fires roar 
I heard the gruff men roar as they marched to their own holy war


I heard the priest with madness in his voice as he choked out his holy decree
Screaming that witches burn in this town and he’ll be damned if they’re hidden by me
The torches glowed like stars in a purple clad mad mob
They were breaking the door down
God the were breaking the door down
They grabbed pulled and boud, and i could only watch with terror and start to sob

She remained in the house as they once more locked the door
They set the house ablaze as they called her witch and whore
I wept and fire reflected in my eyes, the girl burning within my walls
Then screams began piercing
Dear god they were piercing
Snakes and the crows piercing,  as they flew bit and crawled

I covered my head and I wept and I screamed
The beasts of the night attacked the mob as they began to bleed
The wails of the black eyed girl melted into the night
I knew they wouldn’t forgive 
Of course they couldn’t forgive
I just wanted her to live but she was consumed by the fiery light

Time passed but I could never tell you how just how long
I finally lifted my head to melancholy sound of a sad crows song
I gasped and choked sick to my stomach as i saw the blood soaked ground
They were all dead
They were all dead
All but me were dead and not a single unpecked eye could be found

Green veins from snake venom painted their skin where they lay sprawled
Eyeless and bloodied and from their mouths spiders crawled
I looked to the pile of ash where my house used to stand
She was gone
It was gone
She was gone, her remains only cinders fine as swift and flowing sand

The crows and serpents remained still sitting vigil for their queen
In my own pain I could not help wonder what for them this loss would mean
They followed her to battle as they follow wherever she goes
Will they stop now
Is their life done now
Now that they avenged her, the girl with hair and eyes as black as crows

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