Street Crime

Hopping and stalking,

Flapping and squawking,

These corvine punks are kings of the street.

Jumping and brawling,

Flailing and bawling,

Two feathered thugs are out on the beat.

The first one is black as the soul of a demon,

Diamond eyes glinting with malice and vice.

Beak like a shiv, vicious and savage,

To use on his victim, he will not think twice.

Suddenly his voice, so harsh and guttural,

Breaking the silence, brief peace soon is ended.

His henchmen and sidekicks join him with menace,

Violence is flirted with and murder attempted.

The other is two-toned and pied, much more dapper

Swaggers and struts with style and panache.

She searches, unresting, for ill-gotten gains,

Trinkets and treasures she can add to her stash.

Her considerable cunning and ruthless tenacity,

This black and white pilferer will always deploy.

Noisily chattering she calls an accomplice -

Although one will bring sorrow, rarely two will bring joy.

So beware of these bullies, these two airborne criminals

Scavenging, ravaging their way through skid row.

Marauding and pillaging, one thief, one assassin.

Beware, oh, beware of the Magpie and Crow.

Author's Note

the area around where I work seems to attract a huge number of crows and magpies and they can be an almost intimidating presence