'Crow Knows': A Poem by Jay Erickson

Crow Knows i had to sleep for years ,to live inside the earth until i found the root of what was stolen i have become the gun squeezing my heart through the barrel of this brush blue and green and purple shadow and light i will not be silenced i have too much to say like just howCrow knows to become a dove to use the dark alchemy of grief until it blooms and raises us skyward lifting me until my head unfold sin rainbow imagination leave me with the birds to sing of wet moss and air heaven and earth rock and feather every tree, every leaf every flower, every stalk fed by the white filament quilt of dreams running through the ground, licking these diamonds and rubies into the light Crow know she has always travelled the ruthless lines between above and below once upon a time he was Rainbow Crow whose radiance put Peacock to shame who sacrificed his color to the sun  but kept the secret when the light is right you can see their i descent blue in his black feathers that heals all wounds Crow murmurs these paintings to me and i whisper them to you i did not know my mouth had wings we have come to tell the story we have come to remember we have come to set you free 

This poem was inspired by the artist Mariam Paré. Paré was featured in ALIVE's print magazine in 2017.Read more poetry by Jay Erickson. Read our interview with the poet.Photo courtesy of Yannis Papanastasopoulos.