Total Eclipse of the Sunflower

I went to live with my cousins in the sun.

I didn’t understand anyone 

Because their language was so foreign.

They had left the fold so long ago.

It was slow going for me,

But finally I began to see,

That they lived their entire lives

With such simplicity.

From a seed they had begun,

And months of rain and sun

Had made them grow

So verdantly green and vibrant.

So I let what there was of me take root,

And shoots of jade and sage like leaves unfurled themselves.

My world went nature-crazy and sky blue,

And after every other one had bloomed,

I saw I finally had a bud to spread.

I see the ones ahead of me.

Some would say that they are dead,

But I know they are making seed,

And I find beauty in their drab and gray.

I raise my arms up to the sun,

And despite the gloom and futility

That others may try,

I bloom anyway. 

No judgment here if we are early,

Late, or right on time.

Even I, when blooming feel

A large as life identity.

For suddenly the heat of day

Is cooled, and the moving shade takes my breath away.

It’s not a cloud.

The moon has come out in broad daylight!

It quickly says hello and hurries on,

Casting its shyness on the terrain

Along with mysterious shadows on the ground

In the total eclipse of the sunflowers 🌻 

-jenn