I smiled to shed light
On the plague of our insecurities
When weeping comes so much easier
I picked a flower without petals
To match your colorless body

A black rose for you

Branches broke, jagged, at my dry words
Sawdust clouding your every thought
As you landed in oppressed dirt
But I always let you perch nearby
At least until the sun comes up

You can’t see my staples in the dark

Even your shadow sobbed
As you stitched a mediator
Something elemental, terrifying
Between your flighted dismissals
And my ever shifty eyes

I left what I called home for years
And let you perch on my lofty soul
But honesty was the match that killed us
When I showed you my heart of straw

It’s beyond remarkable you stayed this long
Your sobbing was the call of a different crow
I turned my back and walked into the rows
As you flew into memories

I can't even look up anymore
When every raven in the sky
Reminds me I'm inhuman

As I heard you caw, tears filled my eyes
And I climbed back onto my lonely stake
To never again let a beautiful bird in my garden

I always was just another scarecrow