Mornings I place them
by the open window
close to air and light
freshly watered
freshly changed.
I unfold the sheets
and eyes follow me as sun-
flowers follow after light.
Some drift up to touch.
Some fall open.
Petals slacken
like seaweed at ebb tide.
I’ve seen them blanch
as lichen whitens stone
and cheeks shed shades of gold.
For years they’ve seen my day begin.
Oh, let this season be to die in.
Published in Cider Press Review, Volume 15, Issue 3.
Diana Cole’s poem Though I Walk, set for double chorus by Thomas Stumpf, was selected by the Pharos Music Project and performed in New York City. Other poems have appeared in numerous journals including Blueline, Avocet, Off the Coast, The Christian Century, The Tipton Poetry Journal, Slipstream, Poetry East, and Spillway.
See all items about Diana Cole