Winter waiting

A crow on a withered branch

On a withered branch
A crow is perched
An autumn evening


kare eda ni
karasu no tomarikeri
aki no kure

Matsuo Basho (1644 - 1694)


One of the few certainties in this hemisphere is that each night draws in earlier this time of year.
And each day, about an hour after daybreak and an hour before nightfall, crows share perching privileges with magpies, woodpeckers and a multitude of smaller avians on the weather blasted tree across the road.
I worry that the caretakers of the tree will one day reduce it to firewood.

Tonight I witnessed a magnificent chevroned flight of about thirty honking geese overfly our apartment block, bearing SSW …? … maybe not quite the "urge for going" just yet.