This track emerged from a poem Jo wrote in the Old Cemetery of the small town where she lives. She writes a monthly piece on the wildflowers and trees there for the local Herald and also records it each month for the East Shropshire Talking Newspaper for people who are visually impaired. She is compiling a poetry trail around the Old Cemetery to encourage more people to visit and reflect in the space there. This poem features the crow family that sit in the old cherry tree on each visit. Jo imagines them sitting over the graves and presiding over the lives that have been lived throughout history. Jo wanted Rick to read the poem as hearing her words in another voice allows Jo to become a listener too. The accompaniment is made by Jo hammering the tune on the strings and tapping out the rhythm on the body of the guitar.

Lyrics

Crow sits black in the cherry tree.
Silent because he holds 
the thread of golden light
Knows that the sky is full of stars
As bright and startling as the sun
Each one a story in the making


Some tell of heroes and villains
Some of magic and mystery
Some of tragedy and trials 
Or happily ever afters
Journeys of tales map the night sky
It is full of stories like ours
A rich collection of sagas


We weave them across the heavens
As those who now lie in the earth did once too
Shooting stars, comets, light trails of colour
Each one a show of life ascending
And falling, the ebb and the flow


Crow holds the thread tightly, gently
Resisting the urge to ‘caw caw’
Keeps his beak on task
Carefully now, just a little tug and then look 
Another new story begins

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