Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
“Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,” I said, “art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore—
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.” Edgar Allen Poe
So, I was riding my bike last week. Bike riding is common practice for me. It’s a great way to get out and breath the crisp, Autumn air that has actually emerged into our small town in Texas. Well, at least in the mornings before 10am it has. I like to ride as far as I can go on our paths until I reach the next neighborhood and then reconnect onto the next path. We still have very rural areas in our town and when I finally reach those, I feel like I have been transported into a alternate universe. (Okay, I am not crazy, I just enjoy the peace of the country and you definitely don’t find that on the main drag through our town, :-)) So, back to my ride… I had ridden about 10 miles and still had the last leg of my journey to go, to get home, when I stopped for a drink of water. All of the sudden, I felt like I had stepped into the Edgar Allen Poe poem, The Raven. I was surrounded on this lonely, country road by a flock of Ravens. They were big, black and loud! Apparently I was on their turf because they started yelling at me as if I was sitting in their nest. I decided I better hop back on my bike and get out of there. I had completely forgotten about the giant Ravens until I was driving and saw the slue of birds perched on the stop light wires at every stop light in town. The birds migrate through Texas every year, so our town is taken over every spring and fall. I always think of the Raven, although in my house, our favorite version is the one on The Simpsons.
Anyway, the Raven became my inspiration for a Halloween Card for you to print and send to a friend. I hope it brings a little spookiness to your house! 🙂
Click here to print: Happy Halloween copy
Wonderful story, Jenn ! I felt like I was there with you! It also reminded me of my visit to the Tower Of London many years ago. They have Ravens living there permanently.
Oh really? I bet it is kind of creepy, they are so big and loud!