Sunflower – An Unexpected Frost: A Poem

Sunflower – An Unexpected Frost

I see you there in glory, shining bright,
Following the sun and its path of light.
Standing above all others in the field,
You’ve grown tall to conquer, yet you do not yield.

The little birds take great delight
In playing ‘round you, from day to night.
With your petals of yellow and leaves of green
How very surely you are always seen.

But there is more to you than first sight,
More than bounty and grandeur to delight.
Every beautiful aspect that appears,
Gives me hope that we’ll, once again, be near.

Until then, I sit in Unknowing’s woe
As the ground is steadily covered in snow
No more petals of yellow and leaves of green
No warmth to cradle; no blooms we’ll see.

What, flowery friend, has caused this unexpected frost?
-- For the very light of my day and all hope seems lost
Come back to me sun; come back to me please!
Am I not your friend; must I beg on my knees?

Why, Ms. Winter, would you do this to me?

-- Trace Cook, 2006
(Based on “Poem to a Sunflower” by Katherine R. Lane, 1995)