I’m a scarecrow in the middle of the endless field of my wife’s beautiful faces. I want to enjoy the landscape of her but two crows are arguing on my shoulders. One has my mother’s voice. The other speaks in the voice of my father. I’m helpless in the face of their fighting. I have a wooden pole for a spine. I have hay for a heart. Their squabbling brings out the farmer who planted my wife. He storms out of his farmhouse with a book of matches in his hand and he’s coming my way. The crows fly away but the farmer keeps coming. My wife’s mouths open. They begin to shout in chorus, Make it rain! Make it rain! If he does not turn back, I’ll beg her to open wider.

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Eric Paul is a writer and musician from Providence, Rhode Island. He has been the lyricist and vocalist for the bands Arab On Radar and The Chinese Stars as well as his current band, Doomsday Student. In 2009 a collection of Eric’s lyrics and poetry was released by Heartworm Press titled I Offered Myself As The Sea. Since then, he has released two chapbooks and two spoken word releases. His work has also appeared in Ninth Letter, Word Riot, Spork, Lunch Ticket, The Literary Review and others.

“Wider” was originally published in The Tides (TLR Winter 2014)