Scarecrow Remembers

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Scarecrow Remembers

I recall nothing before my eyes captured
the horizon and the looped whorl of night’s
afterglow, the first crow-plumes
crossing from left to right, awakened to
everything but my history and what
preceded the morning. By midday
I had mastered the secret language of
corvids and learned to interpret the wind’s
folly. When the sun eased below the hills,
I divined the angle of declination and tilted
my head to true north, thinking this is my
calling, to point the way. But how few
of us bottle our life’s cause to sip as
needed. Later my dark friends whispered
the truth, and we laughed among the
rustling stalks as I pointed the way
not to the Alhambra or even Wichita,
but to the choicest kernels. Placed here
for one purpose, another claimed me.
I am the future without past, the present
decaying, tomorrow’s joke, impermanent
and shadowed. I am anomaly, risen.

 

* * *

“Scarecrow Remembers” was first published at The High Window in December 2016.

45 thoughts on “Scarecrow Remembers”

  7. When it comes to corvids and straw men, I’d generally be one to anticipate the best of all possible worlds to arise from their nighttime shenanigans and shared ambitions. Nowadays, though, we’ve come to expect (and perhaps, even, accept?) that the sunset serves only to color our pastoral sinister; and that the godhead we’ve erected points only the way of our abandoned hearts.

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  11. “遥か遠い大地の果てに　   熱く燃える夕陽が沈む
    まだ見ぬ世界へ思いを馳せて   高鳴る気持ちは祈りに変わる
    この☆のどこかで泣いてる誰かの笑い声が聞こえる日まで

    Haruka tooi daichi no hate ni    atsuku moeru yuuhi ga shizumu
    Mada minu sekai e omoi wo hasete takanaru kimochi wa inori ni kawaru
    Kono hoshi no dokoka de naiteru dareka no waraigoe ga kikoeru hi made

    Far, far away, at the edge of the earth    the hotly burning sun sinks
    Driving thoughts to the unseen world, the beating feelings turn into prayers
    Until the day I can hear the person crying somewhere on this planet start to laugh

    子供達の瞳に映る　   希望の光は勇気をくれる
    小さな私にできることなんて　   世界は広くてわからないけど
    澄み渡る青い空にただひとつ信じたい　   愛は地球を救うのかな

    Kodomotachi no hitomi ni utsuru    kibou no hikari wa yuuki wo kureru
    Chiisa na watashi ni dekiru koto nante    sekai wa hirokute wakaranai kedo
    Sumiwataru aoi sora ni tada hitotsu shinjitai    ai wa chikyuu wo sukuu no ka na

    The light of hope reflected in children’s eyes gives me courage
    The world is so vast, I don’t know if there’s anything someone small like me can do, but
    All I can believe in is that clear blue sky    I wonder if love can save the world.”

    -Kokia “Live Alone”

    http://www.faceorama.com/bluelight/kokia/livealone.html

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  13. Your amazing descriptive words, had me feeling I was back on Aunty Phil(Splinter) and Uncle Bill’s farm again, out Freshwater Creek way, down off Blackgate Rd. Beautiful memories evoked by your words, thank you Robert.

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  16. I love to see Scarecrow pop up in any season! And with your ‘secret language of corvids’ you’ve reminded me to make a book recommendation: John Crowley’s “Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr.” As I was reading it, you and Kerfe R. and Jeff S. were all on my mind, for various reasons, from the very first chapters. I’ve read a great deal of fantasy but this one, whose protagonist is a crow who cannot die, struck me as utterly unique both in its story and its language — I was reminded of some of your turns of phrase many times. Anyway, if you’re ever in the mood for a 400+ modern myth, I set this before you. 🙂

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