These Absoraka Tears
Poem - by Andrew Roberts
Introduction:
This poem was written as a gift for my friend Xander Odell. Xander’s writing makes me see. It makes me smile. It spins me in circles, shakes me up, and brings me to tears — in all the right ways. The heart of this poem was inspired by their work— most especially their short story, "Scarecrone" — a horror story about prejudice, abuse, and love, all written with such subtly and discernment that it rises above confines of its genre.
These Absaroka Tears
I wonder what the scarecrow said
when she answered the two crows
perched upon her shoulders
cawing into her ears
with steam rising in that sharp sunlight
slicing
between the low clouds and the low hills
and through the grinning pickets
of the whitewashed fence
making the cornflower pattern
of her torn calico dress shine so bright
I wonder what she whispered
as the breeze moved through
her iron-gray hair
what she offered to them
what gift
and what the crows took
in exchange for the one black feather
left behind
when they took flight
was it a secret
or only the last shiny syllable
of her name
still wet with tears.