Poetry Pick

SUNFLOWERS by Jeff Seffinga Ontario, Canada

The summer solstice with its strong light is upon us, pushing aside darkness, leaving room for all things bright. Unseen by any is the hollow between my breastbone and my shoulderblades, there where shadows have a clinging strength. Last summer her garden was graced with a border of sunflowers. They stood taller than ancient Saxon warriors, their yellow heads bright with Sumerian gold. Their stems in thickness grew cousin to redwoods. Broad leaves the green of unending life. After a fall and a winter and spring her yard is a wasteland of short- bladed grasses. No scent catches a small breeze skyward; no colour flutters in dappled long leaves. Although emptiness may reach out for my heart, summer is surely upon us. I dare to ask but fear the answer. Where are our sunflowers. From Tower Poetry, Vol. 57 #2

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