Line 'Em Up

"Crow is Walking"

Crow is walking
to see things at ground level,
the ground as new under his feet
as the air is old under his wings.
He laves the dead rabbit waiting --
it's a given, it'll always be there --
and walks down the dirt road,
admires the pebbles,
how they sparkle in the sun;
checks out his reflection
in a puddle full of sky
which reminds him
of where he's supposed to be,
but he's beginning to like
the way the muscles move
in his legs and the way his wings feel
so comfortable folded back and resting.
He thinks he might be beautiful,
the sun lighting his back
with purple and green.
Faint voices from somewhere far ahead
roll like dust down the road towards him.
He hurries a little.
His tongue moves in his mouth;
legends of language move in his mind.
His beak opens.
He tries a word.


-- Grace Butcher

from Poetry , 2000.


I think my line breaks create meaning and poetic effect in the poem because I ended the lines typically with a strong noun or verb, which creates a stronger image in the reader's mind. I also often broke the lines where it seemed natural when I read it. In this poem, the speaker discusses a crow and how its actions help him grow. The poem describes the crow's actions, so I took the natural breaks and ended lines with nouns and verbs to create a clearer picture in the reader's mind. These breaks also create effect because when the line ends with a verb, it places emphasis on the crow's actions, but when the line ends with a noun, it shows the importance of what it means for the crow and how the crow is affected.