We Sprayed the Sunflowers Today
And I Find that I Miss those Crowns of Gold
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.
About the Creator
Randy Wayne Jellison-Knock
Retired Ordained Elder in The United Methodist Church having served for a total of 30 years in Missouri, South Dakota & Kansas.
Born in Watertown, SD on 9/26/1959. Married to Sandra Jellison-Knock on 1/24/1986. One son, Keenan, deceased.
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Lord of the Rings Triology
Since I published one on "Twilight" (one of our son's favorite series, both in written & video form), I guess I might as well share the one I wrote as a comment on Paul's (I think) haiku review of "Lord of the Rings". This one is perhaps a bit more serious & relates to one of the more important themes Tolkien wanted to stress, but typically gets short shrift & underplayed. The vital spiritual & ethical importance of not killing Golem but actually caring for him, protecting him, attempting to help him, & allowing him to tag along.
By Randy Wayne Jellison-Knock9 months ago in Poets
Comments (52)
You sprayed the sunflowers. Oh the humanity. Yet the parallels you drew from them and our existence is brilliant. Yes, I am late to reading, but no. I am not. The timing is just right. Starting from the beginning here.
I loved this poem… in my youth, I used to pick wild sun flowers for my Mum (from nearby paddocks)… so beautiful, thanks.
A very worthy top story! Strongly emotive… for what kills those sunflowers is also killing us 🥺
Randy, this is so sad! I love the parallels you drew from this "everyday occurrence" though, the sense that the careless often ruin it for the careful. This was so well written and insightful! Beautifully done and a well earned Top Story Badge! 🎉
Congrats Randy on your leaderboard placement! 🎉
And you had self-doubt. NAH! Congratulations and I loved this piece!
A brilliant piece about a saddening topic.
Must have missed this Randy. It is so good. “We dust them with our ambivalence”. Whoa. I love reading someone’s work like this & not knowing where it is going and then become wrapped in its richness.
Oh wow the photo at the end says it all. My first real serious I might want to marry you relationship was with a girl who loved sunflowers. I sent her bouquets of them never bought a rose and though that relationship ended they have remained one of my favorite flowers.
Beautiful lament for lost sunflowers, urging appreciation for fleeting beauty.
Love, love, love! The repetition of the last line in each stanza really works well here. Congratulations on the TS!
Magnificent yet tragic, Randy. You are a word master!! 🥰
I don't know how this eluded me for 3 days, but I'm glad it made Top Story so I got to read it. Also because it's very worthy, of course. Wonderful words, my friend!
This is so beautiful and yet sad at the same time. Sometimes it's the little things in life that mean the most and that we often trample on. Well done!
So Pastor Randy - Here in Cali' we have vibrant orange 'Poppy' fields spread along the countryside - Groups are bused-in just to view the sites - They are nourished by 'Bees' - You're always a lot of fun - with a huge fan base; well deserved - J-Bud Jay Kantor, Chatsworth, California 'Senior' Vocal Author - Vocal Author Community -
Sad, yet also beautiful. Great poem, Randy.
Randy, I absolutely love this! I felt the grief and yearning in every line– and the way you related it to life was seamlessly gorgeous. Such a moving piece!!! As a side note- I hate that we spray anything. The destruction on the surface is only a small picture of what it does to the Earth’s microbiome. Makes me sad. 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻
Beautifully written, wish you just made it up instead of it being standard practice
Great stuff Randy. Really enjoyed this verse: 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.
Excellent words and congratulations on you Top Story
You have such an elegant yet heartfelt way with words 🖤 I am impressed with how beautifully you craft each line.
This is absolutely so moving, Randy. This part really got me: "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." This is so true. Humanity is so quick to dismiss that which it believes does not serve it. We are quick to look only for material gains and do not take time to (I'm going to get a little spiritual here) appreciate the souls of nature around us. The ending was also really impactful to me - how you did think about the sunflowers in their young beauty and missed them, but you were already moving on to somewhere else. 🥲 This is stunning. Congrats on Top Story!! 🥹❤️❤️ Well deserved!
Such a story of longing and grief and acceptance and tiredness and desire to move forward yet still sadness and ugh so much
Pulls at the heart strings!!! Senseless destruction of natures beautiful sunflowers, reminds us a lot of damage done in the name of progress. Congratulations on Top Story!!!❤️❤️💕
This made me so sad 😩😩❤️. It was very beautiful though!!