Scarecrow Replies
This talk of destiny and exceptionalism and the incessant
push towards terror inflames my metaphorical innards.
Birds may kill, but they don’t practice genocide and never
erase history’s missteps with published falsities; their songs
remain true. Not so with man. What grows importance is
not what you hold but what another has in his grasp, no matter
how tenuous. I think of water and how some would charge
for the right to drink, or withhold it from those who cannot
pay. And air? Whose breath defines the dollar? Or the fear
that a distant neighbor might receive a benefit that you
neither need nor desire. Crows claim territory but roam
with the season, adapt as necessary. While they may provoke
curses in their wake, their damage is temporary and they
don’t poison for profit. If I could leave my post what station
would I accept? Having shared my days with sky-bound
friends, how could I choose another? They sing and swoop
and cooperate among the winds, taking only what they need.
They neither hoard nor covet. They steal but don’t swindle.
Their wings lift no grudges. Even gravity respects them.
“Scarecrow Replies” first appeared in MockingHeart Review in May 2018. Thank you to editor Clare Martin for her generosity and many kindnesses.
Your “skyward friends” cold be us on the web, though I fear not gravity up here.
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Thanks, B. Gravity is often your friend!
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“Even gravity respects them.” Ah, Robert…. beautiful.
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Thank you, Anna Marie.
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Reblogged this on Prairiepomes and commented:
Not in the habit of posting twice in one day; but this resonates so much with Erica’s post.
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Thanks so much for reblogging this!
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Very cool… Always loved scarecrows, not the dialog I would have imagined from one, so very interesting.
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So pleased you find it interesting. I’ve published about a dozen or so Scarecrow poems here and there. You can find them on this blog or via search engine.
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Scarecrow is so wise.
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I can only wish that I possessed such wisdom!
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🙂
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Man is an odd one, at once very much a part of nature, an evolutionary triumph, yet purblind.
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Yep. Odd doesn’t quite cover it, and definitely purblind.
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Can’t think what does explain it, probably many things in various subtle ways.
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Such wise words condensed into a beautiful poem. 😉
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Thanks you, Ginni. I hope this finds you well.
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Water was the first of our public utilities to be privatised
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What’s next? Air? Argh!
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🙂
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Both Scarecrow and his crows continue to impress.
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Apparently Scarecrow still has something to say…
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Brilliantly put!
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Thank you very much!
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Your very welcome! I have read the most unique writing by you today! Wow!
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