The innocent By Jack G. McAllister

Over a time of  two weeks or more he was often seen

pacing the gravel shoulder of the road.

Highway 210, just east of the airport.

Sauntering stiff legged in shiny black garb,

eyes to the ground.

A dignified, though comical sight,

 measuring and checking his claim of land.

A crow alone, a lone crow

that did not fly when cars went by.

I  kept watch for this comedian,

this stand-up guy who made me smile

on days when I had no reason to.

I worried for his welfare and

felt deprived when he wasn’t there

walking his walk

Traffic is thick on  Hwy 210, and so

I expected to hear that others had noticed

this vaudeville  crow,

the one that didn’t fly when cars went by.

“Have you noticed that comical crow

near the airport on Hwy. 210?”

“No, I don’t pay much attention to crows”

“A comical crow? no big deal“.

Driving west one day, out of the corner of my eye

I noticed a dark shape in the gravel

on the opposite shoulder of the road

in the place where the walking crow

had kept his vigil.

Thought to myself “ better check that out

on my way back home.”

And so, after turning around

when my errands were done,

I drove home slower than usual,

watching for what I didn’t want to see.

When I came to the place,

the place of the shape,

my fears were confirmed.

It was a dead crow.

You don’t often see a crow that

has been killed by a car.

Crows are vigilant, quick to fly

when a vehicle approaches.

A crow that stood his ground

on a roadside or pavement ,

a crow that trusted those whizzing humans,

would be an easy target

for a steered wheel.

A tire carved arc in the otherwise undisturbed gravel

showed that my crow,

perhaps trusting, maybe retarded,

had been the bulls-eye in some ones gallery.

Posed lifeless for all to see,

a trophy mounted in the dirt.

So when he; I assume it was a man, brags to his

friends and family of his valiant deed,

will they respect him more?

will it make his children wiser?

Hunting game birds is one thing,

but why do some have the urge to kill

innocent life for no purpose?

Could it be they hate the person

that they see in the mirror?

And by destroying other small lives,

they can by sacrificial increments,

kill themselves,

without shedding any of their own blood?

?