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3.  Scarecrow

I saw an old lover in Wal-Mart.
He looked like he hadn't showered in days.
There was a time
When I thought it would kill me
To see him again.
I didn't want to see his curvy signature
On a card,
Or come home and see the red light
Blinking slow words of apology.
I didn't want to hear
He made a crazy mistake,
Or fell and hit his head,
And couldn't we meet at McGuire's for a cocktail?
At Dewey's for some fried red snapper?
Or in our old bed
So he could go down on me one last time,
Right the wrong
Of not being able to make me come
Our last night together?
I thought I would erase
If ever I saw his face.
No more.
I don't even want
To draw an X through the past
And get on with my
Lie.
He took me to Rummy Park three times
Leading me straight to you.
In his sleep he confessed
His whole life was a lie.
He showed me the ugliness
Of being such a master of deception,
If only by crimes of omission,
And in this shallow darkness,
Washed me clean
To give myself
Uncamouflaged to you
Beneath the naked jury of these trees
And the laughter of starlings
Who saw me here before
Begging a scarecrow
To retrace his steps
And find his love for me.