The Raven in the Night

it was a lonely night,
nothing was alive,
no chirping of crickets or cicadas,
no shining stars standing above me,
not a single wind swung by,
not even an animal lurking near the forest side,
it was that lonely,
a lonely quiet night.

walking in that night,
was a peaceful one,
not a single man was alive to see how happy i was,
just walking and strolling along the disguised path,
nothing can stop my way,
nothing, i say.

but to my surprise,
rustling and swishing was what i heard,
coming from the bushes i saw,
my eyes blinking,
adjusting to the sight,
puzzled on who or what it might be,
it was a raven.

a raven?
why such a thick neck and distinctive solid black bird is here in all places?
i used to think ravens were a symbol of death,
that random thought appeared in my head,
was this a sign of me having to say goodbye to the world?
or a sign my demise is coming so soon?

i looked at the raven patiently,
seeing what it might do,
but all it did was just standing there,
standing like no time has passed,
then, its eyes slowly walked into my gaze,
"what do you want, little raven?" i asked,
it didn't respond,
it just kept staring at my brown eyes,
"do you wanna come by my house?" i asked again,
hoping for an answer this time.

no reaction,
all it did was stare,
so i continued my walk,
shrugging it off,
but the raven suddenly flew onto my shoulder,
as much as i wanted to shout in glee,
i kept quiet,
staring back at the little raven was my joy for that night.

soon,
the raven flew away,
my mouth shaped a frown,
i really thought it would stay by my side till the end of the night.

turns out,
i was right,
it flew back to my embrace,
this time, the little raven brought a gigantic stick,
bigger than its body,
the stick wasn't an ordinary too,
it was carved with special symbols and pattern,
they were pretty,
i was confused though,
wondering what it wanted to do with it.

the raven then croaked deeply,
first caw i ever heard from it,
somehow, i understood what it meant,
my hands mindlessly picked up the stick,
holding it like a crutch,
i guess that's what it wanted me to do.

walking through the dead silent forest,
not knowing where was i,
but my heart wasn't thumping in fear,
instead,
i was feeling at peace,
having the raven by my side was enough to make me merry.

but slowly the truth unveils itself,
i understood everything that had happened to me now,
understood why nothing's alive in this forest,
understood why the raven was by my side,
understood why was i holding this special looking stick,
understood why fear hasn't overtaking me as of now,
it becomes apparent,
that i was death itself,
no life shall ever stand in front of my soulless eyes.