THE SUNFLOWER:

You are no rose kissed with velvet dew,

No spring crocus, snowdrop, nor forget-me-not blue,

Not a delicate daisy strung upon love´s chain,

Not bougainvillea, frangipani, nor lotus touched by tropical rain,

The lightness of dandelion carried on whispering wind,

Can never be your pride, nor your most secret sin,

Your place will never be within a bridal bouquet,

You´ll never float as water-lilly upon tranquil midnight bay,

You can hardly compete with oak, willow or magic yew tree,

You´ll never be a favourite nectar for the busy honey bee,

You´re no protea, no daffodil, no lilly upon the tomb,

No potted geranium beneath creamy Spanish moon,

Sunflower, sunflower, reach out your golden arms,

You´re grand, you´re tough, lulled by sun´s balms,

You´re alone, solitary, you smile in the heat´s pain,

Green waxy stem, head of saffron, sunflower of the plains,

You belong to the sky & the earth baked so dry,

Forever at home in the sun with your head held so high,

No blossom, no petal, no bloom can compare under the sun,

You are the sunflower, solitary & happy to be one.