scarecrow’s lament

come to me in the silence of the night

trace my body with

one shaking wing

you haven’t dared to caress me in daytime

under the dandelion rains of midsummer

or the creeping birth of spring

can you withstand the

onslaught of harvest moon

corn rattling on the hills

coyote wind chimes

look at my congregation

they bend at my feet in a circle

those mad-dog green stalks

while you nest in dying trees

i am their motionless

hay-filled savior

truth.

i am no god

i am no sentient creature

real gods can’t touch you now

those who tatter your feathers

with powdery explosion

can’t see you

without sunshine

in their eyes crying, leaking from the corners

so won’t you alight upon my shoulder

under humid moon

we’ll gaze upon vegetative blasphemy

before you feast

come to me, friend

i cast judgment

and stand witness to your hungry

apocalypse

***

Arandus Larson is a student studying English education. She is published in SIAMB! magazine and the Judas Goat. You can find her at arandus.larson@gmail.com