There’s a sad sunflower in my front yard

It’s a subtle reminder that life is hard

That all things are a season

That soon it’ll be freezin’

That sunflower droops like a 90-year old’s arthritic neck

It’s a reminder that gravity yearns

Of what to expect

That to the dust we’ll all return

That sunflower’s seeds are all gone as are its leaves

Its radiant yellow face is now ashen

Ahh, it’s so droopy! Like a plane that’s crashin’

Like it’s given up on life

The dirt it came from, on which it stands, is a knife

How long will its stalk stand

Do passerbys understand

It was beautiful in its day

A cool breeze blows

The sunflower sags further to make way

As fall rolls in

Another new season

The sunflower is sad

But I’m grateful for its once beauty that made all my neighbors glad

And for its many lessons

A final one: that life isn’t all about gettin’

I watch the squirrels gather its fallen sunflower seeds

I gather words for a poem

That now sad sunflower met so many needs