SCARECROWS

By Jawanza Phoenix 

We need scarecrows   

ones with big red beady eyes

arms extended wide

clothes faded yellow 

and long pointy hats

We need them to scare away rednecks who gun down 

African American joggers and church goers

We need them to scare away anyone who requires us to justify 

why we are jogging

why we are congregating

why we are listening to hip-hop or jazz

why we are wearing afros or braids 

We need them to scare away the belief that white people are

more beautiful, more intelligent or more righteous 
than others 

We need scarecrows that not only look mean, but also 

ones who will roll up their sleeves to work with us,

laugh, cry and suffer with us as we fight

for greater freedom, equality and dignity

I hear there is a factory in Greenland manufacturing 

scarecrows, fitting this description

Tell them to speed up production

We need them now 

More than ever

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Jawanza Phoenix resides in northern New Jersey where he practices law. His is the author of “The Intersection of Beauty and Crime,” and “I Need an Assignment.”