I am grateful for the honeybees…
who remind us no matter how hard we work
no matter our situation or circumstance….
We should slow down every now and then…
and take the time to dance
I am grateful for sunflowers….
for not only are they bright…
but they remind me to stand tall and strong
and in any situation…to do my best to find the light.
A field of sunbursts
glowing neath the August sky-
sunflower beauties
Another moment of silence
another flag half mast
another coffin dressed in colors
life's becoming quite a drag
Community garden filled with needles and tomatoes
tiptoe carefully keep the eyes wide open
the air is filled with bullets and black smoke
an asphalt man was selling paper roses.
Monday morning, there's an empty desk at school
wrong place at the wrong time-a Crayola angel died
caught in the crossfire between the reds and blues
grief counselor sooths but things will never be cool.
A child's watching cartoons- a sudden news flash
an arsonist found the perfect house, an entire family's dead
the only thing you can do is turn the channel fast
sunflowers and ceasefires never seem to last.
Another moment of silence
another flag half mast
another coffin sprayed with tears and taps
life's becoming quite a drag.
my f
i
e
l
d g~l~e~a~m~s like g o l d
sunflowers t
i
l
t t—o—w—a—r—d l i g h t
drinking summer's s*h*i*n*e
from d
a
w
n until d
u
s
k
my kitty watched this b e a u t y~
as gift of nature
Contest title: 1393
Contest Judged: July 1st, 2025 9:06:00 PM
Sponsored by: Brian Strand
Placement: First
Soudah and Dutchman
Soudah, a Malaysian slave lived in Cape Town’s slave lodge, her knee bone damaged after decades of scrubbing floors. She escaped northwards, hearing of a bone surgeon in Mpumalanga.
“Will you dance with me ?”, were the first words tumbling from his Dutch lips. He did not see her broken identity, confused caramel aura, threadbare clothing. Colour lived in sunflowers and sky, clothing in merino wool, eyes in streams and sunlight. She saw milk dripping from udders of his cows, his boots highly polished.
flower light at night
clear is vision, incision ~
spirit food landing
Her slanted coal eyes opened wide. She stood up from a wooden crate at a side door. Dutch rhythm was deep, soothing. Her knee bone clicked into place.They swayed to cheering mielie farm workers.
Black and white dissolved into moist Gaia, healing a divide and a knee. Sunflowers shed their seeds as Sun set into her eyes, drinking rooibos tea.
earth and heaven sing
unity twine to bring hymns ~
fling op-art, live now
haiku : van Gogh
sunflower souls speak
we hail our genius, true sight ~
lucid mind coloured
golden gravel s p
r
o u t s
c l
u
s t
e r
s of white sunflowers ~
bright b u r g e o n
i n
g bliss
Philippine dwarf sunflowers
Beautiful, swarming all the way
A walk to go nicely looking
The flower seeds that was cast away
Now scattered blooming without end
Among the rocky greenfield
As far as eyes can see smiling
Noonday hot yellows swayed by the wind
Just beneath my knees kissing my skin
Below my gaze too many suns waving as I passed by
Much more so seen now at flower shop in jars and vases
Adorning all eye to muster passion and beauty
Hoping someone to buy it or leave it.
when the sun prepares to set
on a sunflower field that stretches
as far as the eye can see
magic's surely about to happen
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Daisies and sunflowers
dancing in the seemingly endless field
Sitting with you
the grass waving underneath our legs
The golden sunshine rays
washing over your face
Memorizing this moment forever
I said to no one
Will I remember you?
SUNFLOWERS
yellow
daisies
Sunflowers like smiling balloons,
round and robust, sounds
of the stem bobbing like a string
tied not to the past but to the soons.
Lost before noon, the duct
let out one final tear. Now
she is nearer to God than me.
Like a sheepdog, I guard my Dad.
Sunflowers, weaved into a frame,
deluded in happiness while we pass.
Petals pull at the heart, switching
moods between Winter and Spring.
His tears fill up palm lake, pulsing
of his broken heart. All delusions
fall off the cliff. Reality of life
without her, within.
Sunflowers’ dark brown centers,
the grief stricken eyes, tarred
and feathered. Childlike questions,
those eyes open wide…
So pretty purple urn; claustrophobic
words can’t contain the expression
of who she is-was. Ashes in eyes and
hearts of contemporary ascendants.
Sunflowers’ reflections, so alive,
slowly dying. We watch ourselves
fading. The funeral parading
before us, bypassing us.
Whispers of the dawn,
Sunflowers turn to the light,
Giants in golden fields.
Yellow faces sky,
Stretching to the sun's warm kiss,
Nature's own compass.
Gentle giants stand tall,
Beneath the vast, endless blue,
Silent communion.
Leaves whisper secrets,
Beneath the sun's watchful eye,
Flowers nod in peace.
Petals of fire,
Hearts hold the sun's pure essence,
Noble Sunflowers.
Evening's soft embrace,
They bow, content in twilight,
Dreaming of sunrise.
a river raging
suffocating sunflowers
ripping up the roots
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