Crows in Wheatfield

hazardous
like a desert gilled
with fire--

and peppered onyx
in a lush frenzy
of saffron--

a brew scythes could cull
if they writhed
like snakes--

a landscape
strummed by fever,
replete with vague lyres.
all you hear
is anxiety
vaporing off the canvas--

a dirge that could,
after decades,
saw off your lobe.

the scene
wavers like a stung pond,
fueling a hint
of racked petals--

the facade peace becomes
when inveterate pain

trembles.

copyright 2007 Chris Crittenden
bio
Barnwood magazine
Contents 07