
Scarecrow Questions
Though my tongue withers from disuse and
drought, I taste from across the sea astringent
smoke and the progeny of a hundred bullets
buzzing by like misguided insects through
the theater of the dying, and I question how
pride and greed, hubris and fear, unwind their
cords to detonate these differing yet tangled
lines. How to fathom such depth of mistrust?
The Christian paints her door frames azure, a
Muslim carpets his tile floor, the Jew panels his
walls, yet among each, various segments clash,
and all of their houses implode. I feel nothing,
yet shiver throughout the sun-blazed afternoon.
Then I consider the structure of zero, whether its
body contains or extracts, negates or compromises,
hollows out duplicates within duplicates, exorcising
with a blade so sharp as to peel away memory from
those it crosses without the faintest murmur. Gone.
Erased. Banished to never having been. I neither
breathe nor digest, but I absorb and recall. How do
you so willingly forget history? This post determines
my destination, but not my destiny, not tomorrow’s
promise, nor the returning birds and faith, the long
nights, their stars, their deaths, the following days.

“Scarecrow Questions” first appeared here in February 2016.
“This post determines / my destination, but not my destiny” — indeed! And aren’t we humans likewise individually “posted” to a large degree? Scarecrow is a fantastic witness.
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We are indeed!
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I love this piece. I am so thankful that we have taught this poem to my students.
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I’m looking forward to the next time!
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Beautiful, haunting and apropos
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Thank you very much!
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I’m always intrigued by our human’s fascination with the inanimate scarecrow, and how he’s so often perceived to be quite alive and animated, and dramatically depicted in so many different forms of creations.
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Scarecrows are interesting entities, and have appeared in literature since the 8th century at least. They’re everywhere!
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Beautiful read 😊 enjoyed every bit 💞
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Thank you, Anita. Much appreciated.
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Still powerful today
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Thanks, Derrick.
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