Sitting beady eyed,

Watching the world around you pass,

Furtive side eyes take in everything,

Assessing surroundings amass.

Sometimes hidden in amongst the flock

You fly your own path,

Waiting for opportunity,

Swooping in to take your mark.

Stealthily cunning,

Persuasive entrapment until

The time is right to pounce,

And unexpectedly steal.

Magpie like behaviour

Looking for new and shiny,

But packing a nest with feather debris

Disregarding attractive finery.

Cleverly honing your skill,

Practice to test the water,

Unwittingly small trails of misjudgement

And common threads thereafter.

Briefly observed as you steal one from another,

Confidence never wavering,

Swagger, assumption, confidence,

Every morsel savouring.

But behind those dead eyes

A more sinister story is held.

Intelligent manipulation to coerce your prey,

Experience and successes meld.

Conniving, collaboration with other minds,

Years between existence,

Devour traits and tips for gain,

Delivered with persistence.

Never disheartened by continued search,

Hunting grounds fresh and new,

For once or twice strategies are tried

The veil of disillusionment falls through.

Gnarly claws grasp their hold,

Slow and deep they settle in,

Picking off your next morsel

Feeding on what’s within.

Your reinforced rookery

Sits amid crowded communes,

Deceiving habits of tidiness and quiet

Carry an alternative tune.

More solitude preferred

Than perhaps other nesting crows,

But to reach what is needed, craved, desired

Communal discomfort is allowed.

Once replete with what’s on offer

Or attempts result in fail,

It’s time to move to treetops new,

Attempt renewed skills with self permission to prevail.