When I walk into our living room
Paul looks concerned.
“Did you drop anything?”
he asks.
I shake my head.
“I heard a sound
like a pepper rolling
and then falling”,
Paul explains.

A search of our kitchen
finds no run-away
fruit or veg
and everything is in order
in the cupboards.

Hmmmm … puzzling!

The next day
as I leave the bathroom
I hear the sound for myself –
Rumble, Rumble, Thud!
It sounds exactly
like a pepper rolling
and then falling.
But everything is in place
in the bathroom
and even in the attic
(I checked!)

By now,
I’m slightly concerned.
What is this mysterious
Rumble, Rumble, Thud
that follows me?
Having ruled out
natural causes,
I’m now considering
supernatural causes!

Do I need
to get the house blessed?
Do I need
to get myself blessed?

All slightly worrying!

The following day
I get up early
to practise music
for Mass.
As I sit at the kitchen table,
music in one hand
and tea in the other,
I hear a by now familiar sound –
Rumble, Rumble, Thud!

This time I know exactly
what the sound is.
It’s our two young crows
(named Clueless and Gormless)
who have been
hanging about the garden
all week.
Rumble, Rumble, Thud
is simply the sound
of one of them walking
and then the other one landing,
with a total lack of grace,
on our new flat roof.

Rumble, Rumble, Thud
has a totally natural cause
after all!

(But I bless the entire house
from top to bottom anyway –
you can never be too sure!)

© Claire Murray, 25th May , 2024