black birds on a wire

what birds
are these
with oiled wings
papered
and locked
together.
what's with these
black eyes,
unnerving in
their stare,
and curled
yellowed claws
on the wire.
what sinister
things
are they up to.
are they dreaming
of us, as we do
of them. hoping
it's not
a portent of death,
or worse,
betrayal.
what message
do they carry
in their stillness,
in their
awful squawk.
I don't want
to know.