Scare Crow

a poem by Vidhya Jayarama Raja

Hay fashioned into
a headless human torso
A worn out pant
Pulled and held in place
Topped by a tattered shirt
An upturned freckled pot
Or a painted pumpkin
For a fierce face
Propped against a pole
Under sun and rain
To stand guard
Over fields of golden grain
Or to ward off evil
A bachelor
Begging for company
A solitary scare crow