Crow Pose
"...there is a song that waits / to be sung in all of us, / and there is a day that wants / to come that may be now..." - excerpt from Crow Pose, by Corie Feiner
Hello yogis, poets, and seekers of inspiration!
Today’s poem is about Crow Pose. Why? Because, A Poem For Every Pose, is alphabetical and as I moved through the letter, C, the crow chose to speak!
For real, I am really excited to share this poem with you as spring begins to sing here in the Northeast. No matter what is happening in our minds, hearts, or the outside world, the birds still come and sing.
I asked a bunch of people in my yoga community what they think of when they think of crows and here is what they said:
The Crow is symbolic of a harbinger of change. Like the “Death” Tarot card, we think it’s a bad sign, but really it’s our cue to liberate ourselves from a chapter that most definitely needs to be laid to rest. Fly my darlings! You are free!! - Katie Robleski of
Crow and raven are powerful medicine for me traveling between the veil brining message from spirit to guide us along our journey in this incarnation I identify with crow and raven and work with them often.
- Heather Barna-Dowling of River Lotus Healing
The crow is a call to action that is impossible to ignore. - Sherry Sadhoff Hanck of the Podcast Anecdotal Anatomy
A timeless sentinel as at home on the ground as it is in the air. - Rob A.
I hope you check out their yoga practices, Substacks, and podcasts later, but before you do, I am excited to share the poem, Crow Pose with you!
Crow Pose I roost on the branches of a leafless tree, my caw-caw screeching above the sweet symphony of other birds whose colors radiate like wildflowers around me. I am dark. And I do not coo or cheep-cheep or warble. When I speak, it is a message from beyond that needs to be heard, Pay attention. Pay attention. Watch what can shift inside of you. When I was a chick, I fell each time I tried to fly. I wish I could tell myself then that flying has little to do with wings, just like language has little to do with words and that there is a song that waits to be sung in all of us, and there is a day that wants to come that may be now when you defy gravity and the core of your being is what lifts you fully from the ground. *Sanskrit Name: Bakasana
What do you think of when you think of Crows?
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P.S. If you've never read the childhood book, Rainbow Crow, you really should. It's a beautiful Native American Indian myth about how the Rainbow Crow lost its rainbow feathers. Poems, too. You're welcome.
Oh yes oh yes!! Your poem so eloquently captures this pose and the essence of the Crow. I love how uncomfortable this pose is and how liberating it is to feel my animation suspended... that I have to use every fiber of my being to soar between two realms. “That flying has little to do with wings”... exactly!!!