blackbird by Gina Frisken

I sit in my armchair, “upon the velvet sinking,” and begin to link Poe, Hitchcock, and Rabe.

 

Poe inspired by a raven, Hitchcock and du Maurier by crows. What did I see that day?

 

I research the distinction between a crow and a raven - I am not alone in my wondering.

 

One incident leads to another. First eight ravens, then the next day I see a black bird lying on the road. As I walk past it, I know it’s a raven. It will talk no more, nevermore. A sign is it Poe? An ominous sign, is it Hitchcock? An “ominous bird of yore.”

 

The more I step away from this story the more it draws me in. First a murder, a whisper, a book, a film, a poem, a song, and what now?

 

Why explore a tale long forgotten and barely mentioned throughout time? This story haunts me. I fear it, because I don’t know if I chose it or it chose me.