Poetry

Flower Child

Dedicated to my unborn daughter.

Animated collage by author. Created on Canva.

Apologies, please don’t let my dolour deceive,
My arms are open for you like colour to bees,
Let you feed on my sunshine, I want to nourish your mind,
The greatest gift I can offer is the rein of my time until my day comes,
When I no longer follow the sun,
I’ll always wonder, ‘Did I do enough to protect you from the seeds
That were sown into me by love but trampled by their creed and root-bounding fear of what I could or could not be?’
Yet I owe it to the weathered stems that laid the ground for me.
Because of them, you’ll always have a home
And I can raise you free.

Written in response to Paper Poetry’s Ekphrastic Week 12 prompt.

Connecting With a Sunflower

Image: Digital collage by author. Original sunflower drawing by 5-year-old grandson of Carolyn Hastings.