Sunflower
"Bring me the sunflower, crazed with the love of light” Eugenio Montale
Ah Sun-flower! weary of time,
Who countest the steps of the Sun:
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where the travellers journey is done.
Where the Youth pined away with desire,
And the pale Virgin shrouded in snow:
Rise from their graves and aspire,
Where my Sun-flower wishes to go.
-----William Blake, Songs of Experience
I was a flower child of the 1960s, a late bloomer. My generation, now older, lived in a field of dreams, hopes mixed with delusions that ultimately did not change human nature much.
What was supposedly freer love then might be labeled sexual harassment in the young 21rst Century. While its definition gets tweaked from time to time, love is never free.
Nevertheless, the sun keeps giving, the flowers keep blooming, the regenerating petals and fields keep the cycle of life going. The birds and bees make more birds and bees.
Thank you, sunflower.
A field of sunflowers in western Pennsylvania and visitors
Some Facts
-Sunflower belongs to the family, Compositae. -Family includes daisies, asters, ragworts, dahlias, silver sword (Hawaii), desert star, etc. (more than 25,000 species). -High oil content