Welcome I and II

I.

Three crows greet me this morning 
Hopping in place on the fence 
Strange friends 
Crowd around

They stay close 
Eyes stop as I pass 
And meet the winking black gaze 
Of the closest 

A fourth alights 
On a far wall: the witness 
Then a fifth
Late to the murder 

What had they been waiting for? 

Is it me? 

II.
If I must quit something 
Quit what separates 
Feeds the gnawing doubt 
Casts a darkness in the center 

Quitting drinking 
Is the path of renunciation 
Admitting I have lived but half my life 
Only part of each moment 

I lose the old familiar questions 
To the admission of my inheritance 
The cycle of hiding 
Ends with me

Gaining my wholeness 
That needs no assurance 
The seeker finds she is
Already home