Louise Bogan: The Crows

The woman who has grown old
And knows desire must die,
Yet turns to love again,
Hears the crows' cry.

She is a stem long hardened,
A weed that no scythe mows.
The heart's laughter will be to her
The crying of the crows,

Who slide in the air with the same voice
Over what yields not, and what yields,
Alike in spring, and when there is only bitter
Winter-burning in the fields.


Louise Bogan (1897-1970) can at first glance appear too calculating to write real poetry; but respect for her grows as her sure rhythms merge with her obsessions (mainly, the impossibility of faithfulness and love). This is a poem of 1923: its author was far from a "woman who has grown old" in the literal sense.