Stories I Tell My Godmother | Kristina McDonald

  Kristina McDonald received her MFA from Eastern Washington University, where she served as the poetry editor of Willow Springs. Her poems have appeared in several journals, including Narrative, New Guard, SLAB, Yemassee, and Sugar House Review. She was worked for literary arts non-profits Writers in the Schools and Get Lit! Programs, and she currently works for Rice University.      Dear ScarecrowIf only it hadn't itched every time we kissed,I might have liked it better. I might have stayed longerin that sweet little town where you taught me the differencebetween chicken and pig feed. If only everythingmade that much sense. But you kept wasting time filling your head with bits of fluff and fistfuls of rose petals. If only you hadn't taken me to the library just to make out against the reference books, I might have listened better. I might have believed you when you said you could protect me from anythingother than fire. If only you had understoodI wasn't the one in danger, you wouldn