We Sprayed the Sunflowers Today

We sprayed the sunflowers today,

not with malicious intent,

this is Kansas, after all,

the Sunflower State.

But we sprayed them just the same

& now they are gone.

*****

They were next to fields

planted in grasses—

corn, wheat, milo, sorghum—

broadleaf herbicide dusted from a plane

does not differentiate between lovely & noxious.

Nor could we be bothered to take the time,

& so they are gone.

*****

Ah, the glory that would have been

adorning the ditches beside the roads

crowns of gold wafting above our heads

as we pass by

inviting us to linger,

pondering the wonder that is our mother.

But we would not tarry,

nor ponder past the moment,

& so they are gone.

*****

And I find myself mulling

over how like us that is as a race,

as a species,

unwilling to take the time to notice

any that do not suit our designs,

dismissing them as insignificant—

collateral damage not worth counting.

And so, we dust them with our ambivalence,

ignoring their cries without pity,

& so they are gone.

*****

But I find that I miss those crowns of gold

as I pass by their withered heads,

on my way to somewhere else.