Scarecrow Dances
A case of the almost
tapping into the deed:
I dance in daylight,
but never on stairs
nor in countable
patterns, the wind
and birds my only
partners. When the
left arm twitches
counter to the right
hand’s frisk, my
head swivels with
the breeze, catching
my feet in pointe,
a moment endured
in humor. Luther
Robinson switched names
with his brother Bill
and became Bojangles,
but my brothers remain
nameless and silent,
flapping without desire
or intent. Why am I
as I am, born of no
mother, stitched and
stuffed, never nurtured
but left to become this
fluttering entity, thinking,
always thinking, whirling,
flowing rhythmically
in sequence, in time
to unheard music?
No one answers me.
But for now, I dance.
“Scarecrow Dances” first appeared in The Blue Nib in September 2016.
O at the Edges 
One of my favorites of yours! At times, I hear the music too and smile in the wind.
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Thank you! That music is everywhere.
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This is really moving. So simple, yet it opens up a world.
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Thank you, Matthias. I’m convinced that the answers to all of our questions lie in simplicity.
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I love it Robert! ..No mother, just stuffed and stitched… I wonder how many kids today just grow up stuffed and stitched!??
dwight
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Thanks, Dwight. I hope not many, though some seem that way.
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Scarecrow always seems so troubled. His thinking seems to be both blessing & curse, as if he knows it sets him apart like the talking animal, but also recognizes that what sets him apart enables him to realize that he is set apart: he’s a talking, thinking, dancing scarecrow! Stationary & thoughtful, friendless but for the birds who never get too close, just in case.
I still envy you for claiming scarecrow, really wish I’d thought of this one.
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As Scarecrow says, “I think, therefore I cannot be.” A conundrum. I wish I had slightly more control over Scarecrow. He speaks when he will, and I can’t force him to do otherwise. Funny how that is.
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Brilliant. Quite the anti-matter isn’t he.
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He is, indeed.
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Love it! Makes me wish for a neck so limber my head could swivel…
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Me too! But let’s not stop at the neck!
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Good to see an old friend back. One can feel the breeze
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Scarecrow scatters with the wind!
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I always love your scarecrow poems! 🙂
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Thank you! I’d like to write more, but they come as they will.
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I know how that is. 🙂
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