I saw a raven standing in the middle of the road ahead of me.
He didn’t try to fly away when cars approached.
He looked normal, just standing there on the highway, eyes open.
I walked out onto the highway and picked up the raven.
He didn’t resist my touch.
I carried him to the side of the road.
When I set him down, I saw there was blood on my hands.
I had never touched a raven before.
Not once in my entire life.
I thought he might attack me when I reached for him.
But now I could see that he was in too much shock.
Ravens are large birds, but he was surprisingly light when I held him.
I sat with him for a while talking softly, trying to keep him at ease.
I didn’t know what else to do.
The raven just stood there looking at me.
He did not understand that he was going to die from his injuries.
Or maybe he knew.
