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