SUNFLOWER II

Watercolor by S. Auberle

SUNFLOWERS

Today in this mountain field
I'm watching sunflowers dance
and imagining Van Gogh
on a summer morning
in his village in Provence
whispering to himself
as he arranges sunflowers
in a crude and tender vase,
painting them over and over,
believing they are a symbol of hope,
of the soul one day awakening
into a sunny world
leaving behind the darkness
of potato eaters and crows
and now, holding a bouquet
of blossoms in my hand,
I see as surely Vincent saw,
how brief their dance,
how quickly they die,
leaving behind only hope
and a trail of yellow petals
to follow into the Sun.

- mimi