The Magpie Song

Some sight I must have been

A makeshift slingshot in my hand

One fist wrapped in a blood-red band

When the magpie called my name

At first, well, he just shyly approached

Accepting morsels from my hand

But soon shadows crossed the hinterland

And the magpie called my name

Well that dreaded bird raised holy hell

Dropping bones down the wishing well

I tried to shoot it down from its perch

But the magpie just called my name

One part color of forested night

One part color of virgin snow

Magpie, magpie, on the sill

If only you would take flight

And in the days after the snow

Truth be known and truth be told

He dove and swooped me every time

I tried to cross over the threshold

That dreaded bird raised holy hell

Dropping bones down the wishing well

I hid behind the churchyard wall

But the magpie just called my name

Well finally, and as if by chance

And who can know the ways of chance

That dreaded bird well he just took flight

And no more magpie to call my name

So I took myself to a carefree bed

Smiling to myself at what could not have been

And just before I drifted away

The magpie called my name

Called my name

The magpie called my name