A crow on the thatch
soon death lifts the latch.
If two crows I see,
good luck to me.

1 crow sorrow
2 crows joy
3 crows a wedding
4 crows a boy
5 crows silver
6 crows gold
7 crows a secret
never to be told.

In mythology and literature
crows are said to tell the future;
and when the body draws the last breath
crows are there to tell of the death.

In Scotland in the Faroe Isles
are  meetings of crows say locals.
Some are noisy, some droop their heads
and when they leave, some are dead.

They say there are judges at these meetings,
crows, who determine that life is fleeting.
The leaders of this crow conflict
squawk and decide who to convict.

All within their crowded, noisy fury
it’s said they act like judge and jury.
It’s a superstition and nobody knows
the reason for corpses by this murder of crows.

North American natives say the crow represents law,
whether human, divine, universal or secular.
Used in stories forecasting art and ritual,
they see this bird as something special.

As well as crow, they also use raven.
He has a special place on their totem.
In mythology, he takes a leading place
in stories about the human race.

Druids said ravens were oracular birds
with their omens and magic croaking words.
A Celtic belief that a goddess’s haven
was to shape-shift into a raven.

Norse legend said Odin had ravens as spies,
sent on many missions far into the skies.
They flew off every day to spy and question
and returned each night to report to Odin.

The two birds sat one on each shoulder.
No bird position could be any bolder.
Named Hugin and Munin – thought and mind.
They kept Odin informed about humankind.

For Greeks – go to the crows – is, go to hell,
if you don’t want to deal very well.
But also crows and ravens are apparent
as messengers of enlightenment.

The French said evil priests became crows,
harbingers of death, I suppose.
They also said bad nuns became magpies
that pushy bird used as no surprise.

In Italy a saying to prophesy –
a Roman phrase – to pierce a crow’s eye.
It meant an impossibility,
something you were not able to see.