Editor’s Note: Election Day in the Piedmont under light chill rain and gray sky. We will see how this goes. Our Handy-guy, a Bolivian by birth, is now a U.S. Citizen. He said he was going to go vote today during some routine Tuesday business. I have already done my civic duty. Do yours, if eligible.

– Vic

Author’s Note: Back in July when a cooling dusk started descending upon a small western North Carolina Main Street we were shopping, we spotted some cast iron pieces that rang certain bells. As the shop keeper started closing up, W asked to buy all of them and any others he might have had in the back.

We came home with his total lot — 4 ravens.

They were placed around our kitchen with three of them standing watch over a local Keys artist’s watercolor of an island scene.

While sipping morning coffee in the kitchen today, I looked at these birds while the living room TV softly blared the day’s beltway and election news two rooms away.

– Marlow

TV: 24/7 doom, bad news and outrage

Ravens atop kitchen picture frame in the morning sideways light
Black empty-eyed-ness against dawn’s Kodachrome color bright
Fillin’ up my head with dreams while living room TV drones a news monologue
They’re never gonna let us go
They’re still foot stomping about last year’s melted snow
In their studios, like dried winds, like grey ghosts, like children, like bad dogs

Now and then I try to hear what they say
I’m trying to hear, what do they say?
And every TV screen in this town has seen better days

Birds on a watercolor

Our front door opens up at the bottom of the stairs
And all of that brutal winter air
Slides over the kitchen wine bar and onto the floor
The sun just rose and now it’s setting
Some people here are long past forgetting
What it was that they came here lookin’ for

And maybe they came just to get away
Now maybe now they gonna stay away
And every TV screen in this town has seen better days

Hades went and made us eat them pomegranate seeds
And now we’s got them driving needs
To run around town every time the nights get long
Enjoying elixir charms sitting in local bars in our Levi jeans
Until we’re toasty in our early winter dreams
Just trying to get within earshot of some old song

Oh, but it don’t matter who says stay
We gonna go, no matter who says stay
And every TV screen in this town has seen better days

Sometimes out on the edge of town
We unwind our hotrods’ motors
Till we’re so far out
We see a million stars
And enjoy a dusk sea breeze
And the blazing moon and one lone palm tree
Such beauty of our vast, empty, silent, late winter nights

Well, we can sometimes feel our whole life fallin’ away
We can sure feel our whole life fallin’ away
And every television screen in this town has seen better days
Every screen in this town

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