Loss of Connection
There, where the rusty iron lies,
The rooks are cawing all the day.
Perhaps no man, until he dies,
Will understand them, what they say.
The evening makes the sky like clay.
The slow wind waits for night to rise.
The world is half content. But they
Still trouble all the trees with cries,
That know, and cannot put away,
The yearning to the soul that flies
From day to night, from night to day.
Charles Hamilton Sorley (1915)
Rooks
Rooks, with their midnight plumage and haunting 'caw', have long been regarded as omens of death, their presence in graveyards and at funerals adding to the solemn atmosphere. However, beyond their association with mortality, rooks are also viewed as messengers between the earthly and spiritual realms. In folklore and mythology, they are said to guide the souls of the departed to the afterlife. Though it may be an unfortunate coincidence, it is theorised that their featherless faces inspired the masks worn by plague doctors.
Despite their ominous reputation, rooks possess a quiet beauty and remarkable sociability. Far from being solitary creatures, they form close-knit communities and strong pair bonds, often remaining with the same mate for life. In their duality of symbolism - death and messenger, loss and companionship - rooks remind us of the interconnectedness of all living things and the inevitability of loss.
Poetry:
Rooks - Charles Hamilton Sorley (1915)
Locations:
Fig. 1-5 - Tehidy Woods, Camborne.
References: