There You Are: A Raven's Lament – Danu Grayson [Inkbound]

There You Are: A Raven's Lament – Danu Grayson Beneath the boughs of blackthorn, Where the morning mist lay low, A child spoke to a raven Of things he ought not know. She told me of her dreaming, Of kingdoms in the stars, And I bowed my head to listen As she whispered, "There you are." Oh, raven, raven, black as night, What sorrow stills your morning flight? What have you seen, what have you known, That makes you mourn when you're alone? I watched her dance through summer, With wildflowers in her hair, She laughed beneath the heavens, As though no grief lived there. But autumn came unbidden, And shadows crossed her door, The child who once came running Did not come out anymore. I watched the winters find her, Each colder than before, The hands she reached for vanished, The winds shook every door. Yet still she rose at morning, Though nights had left their scars, And sometimes through the silence She'd whisper, "There you are." Oh, raven, raven, silver worn, What memories have left you torn? What have you kept through passing years, Beneath your wings, beyond your tears? The stone walls fell to ivy, The roads forgot their names, I watched her gather ashes From a thousand nameless flames. I called from winter branches, But she no longer heard, And all the songs I carried Could not reach her with a word. I left a silver feather Upon her winding way, A little piece of midnight That had learned the light of day. She lifted it toward heaven, Beneath the fading stars, And something stirred within her As she breathed, "There you are." Oh, raven, raven, silver wing, What sorrow makes the shadows sing? What have you lost, what have you found, That keeps you near this hallowed ground? I bowed beneath the moon that night, My silver wings hung low, And all the grief I'd gathered there Escaped in notes of woe. She found me by the crumbling wall, Where once she'd laughed beneath the stars, And laid her hand upon the stone, And whispered, "There you are." She spoke of fields of wildflowers, Of summer's golden rain, Of all the things she still held dear Beyond the years of pain. And I, who'd mourned the child she was, Through every passing year, Beheld the woman she'd become, And found her standing here. Oh, raven, raven, take your flight, The dawn has found the edge of night. The world may change, the stars may fall, Yet love remembers through it all. The blackthorn bends beneath the wind, The old stones turn to dust, She walks the road before her now, And still I follow... as I must.