Christine Rhein: Sunflowers

 I grow them every summer,
	keep the pictures

on my phone — petals
	of brilliant yellow,

skies, royal blue—nothing 
        like gray winter, 

gray tanks, headline news.
	The whole world

has pictures, explosions
	we hold in our palms,

villagers walking us  
	into farm fields

full of shrapnel. Let it not be
	useless to tend

the tractors, to talk of seeds
	and seedlings,

of how fast stalks grow,
	buds form,

open into blooms that turn—
	east, west,

before our eyes—the need
	for light to live.	

Copyright 2022 Christine Rhein. 

"Sunflowers" is included in a new poetry anthology, Busy Griefs, Raw Towns. All proceeds from the sale of the anthology are forwarded to the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to support continuing Ukraine relief efforts. More information about the anthology can be found by clicking here.

Christine Rhein, formerly a mechanical engineer in the automotive industry, lives in Brighton, Michigan. Her book, Wild Flight, can be ordered from Texas Tech University Press.