Once Upon A Discouraging Jackdaw's Word

oh that reverberating 

sharp staccato chattering 

of the splendid times 

we all had, gone 

before we knew it 

like a bat out

of hell and high 

water didn’t I tell you not to breathe a word of it, 

to just hold 

your breath, stop

your non-stop cawing 

and eat, 

crow?