Pica Pica

“We did not find evidence of an unconditional attraction to shiny objects in magpies.
Instead, all objects prompted responses indicating neophobia—fear of new things—in the birds.”
—Dr. Toni Shephard, University of Exeter.

O, raucous Magpie, smart and flashy,

maligned for picking up and hiding what scares you!

I, too, am cast as a bad omen. Do they call us thieves

because we rob them of superstitions?

One for sorrow                        You grieve.

Two for mirth                           You mate for life.

Three for a wedding                 You eat cake.

Four for a death                       You grieve. You feed.

Five for silver                           You fear.

Six for gold                               You fear.

Seven for a secret                     You recognize yourself in a mirror.

Eight for heaven                       You sing pure-pure.

Nine for hell                             You yell wock-a-wock.

Ten for the devil’s own self      You are blamed.

We know what we look like and who we are. 

We know silver and gold are up to no good.

We seek warm cherries at the top of the tree.

First published in Crannóg