Straw Man

He's there in the field, he's guarding the maize

Like a crucified effigy, his barren eyes gaze

Into the embers of dusk, where darkness now grows

As another day's done of scaring the crows

Perhaps you can see him from the place where you are

Or is it a thought to avoid, or is the distance too far?

Why not conjure up his image, you can, if you try

In your meandering musings, until you're caught by his eye

He's still where he his, for he has nowhere to run

And though his work might be creepy, it's never quite done

For he's often possessed beyond the evening's last caw

And there's only mulch for a heart and his body is straw

You know where he his and you know he's too close

There's fear, that is clear, for you know he's a host

And now he's animating himself and departing the soil

For the day maybe done, but there's still the night's toil

He's clearly been baiting, while waiting for you to arrive

For he's quietly expectant and holding a rope and a scythe

But you know in your head it's a nightmares perception

And the fuel in the can will end this deception

A finger is pointing at you from sackcloth and rags

And straw is protruding from openings and jags

But nothing is moving, 'cept the wind through the crop

The rhythm of the swishing like a blade on a strop

The dank smell of his rot pervades, for it's a reality check

And the rope that was his, is now a noose round your neck

You're gagging and choking, you're fumbling with panic

As you sense he is creeping; from straw man to organic

He's doused in accelerant, you're creating a flame

The fire's in your fingers, before you take aim

A last look into his smouldering eyes... now you understand

And the world's an inferno, as he hacks off your hand

Maybe you died in a nightmare, or in a scorched field

For you couldn't possibly know of what he could wield

But the embers of a fire are to the dawn juxtapose

And now another day breaks for scaring the crows