Jane Yolen
“[T]he Scarecrow of Conciliation.”—Teresa Matlock
He hangs there like some old corn god,
eyeing the furrows, hoping to see
some good old-fashioned humping going on,
anything to bring fertility back into the world.
Waiting on resurrection, that uncertain future,
where we all cavort in long draperies
or twang uncomfortable lyres, he smiles.
He cannot help it. The smile is painted on.
Deep inside that straw head, he remembers
dancing down the rows with a girl, a sulky dog,
an iron man, a large maned cat. A dream,
he thinks. But as with all scarecrows
life is not about living but conciliation—
making the elder gods happy, resolving
crow murders, keeping boys with matches
out of his vicinity, playing it safe.
It is the most human thing about him.
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Jane Yolen, often called “the Hans Christian Andersen of America”(Newsweek) is the author of well over 350 books, including OWL MOON, THE DEVIL’S ARITHMETIC, and HOW DO DINOSAURS SAY GOODNIGHT. Her books and stories have won an assortment of awards—two Nebulas, a World Fantasy Award, a Caldecott, the Golden Kite Award, three Mythopoeic awards, two Christopher Medals, a nomination for the National Book Award, and the Jewish Book Award, among many others. She has been nominated three times for the Pushcart Prize in Poetry. She is also the winner (for body of work) of the World Fantasy Assn. Lifetime Achievement Award, Science Fiction Poetry Association Grand Master Award, Catholic Library’s Regina Medal, Kerlan Medal from the University of Minnesota, the du Grummond Medal from Un. of Southern Missisippi, the Smith College Alumnae Medal, and New England Pubic Radio Arts and Humanities Award . Six colleges and universities have given her honorary doctorates. Her website is: www.janeyolen.com.
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