Contributor: Cynthia Pitman

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Dedicated to Paul Plyler

Keep a scarecrow on your shoulder
to ward off the black-winged birds
that nibble at the fruits of your heart.
They like to pick at them slowly,
each little peck stabbing in time
with every throb that pulsates
through the veins of your life-blood.
Hold them off.
These blood-thirsty predators
do not scare easily,
so you must make your scarecrow brutal,
with a vicious lust for a fight.
No straw hat, plaid shirt, and blue jeans.
Instead, steel armor, steel sword, and steel shield.
These are the weapons your scarecrow will need
if you are to be saved from the onslaught
and live free in life’s field.


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I am a retired high school English teacher. I began writing again this past summer after a 30-year hiatus. My first book of poetry, “The White Room,” is forthcoming from Kelsay Books.