Mary Oliver Monday: "The Sunflowers"

Come with me
into the field of sunflowers.
Their faces are burnished disks,
their dry spines

creak like ship masts,
their green leaves,
so heavy and many,
fill all day with the sticky

sugars of the sun.
Come with me
to visit the sunflowers,
they are shy

but want to be friends;
they have wonderful stories
of when they were young -
the important weather,

the wandering crows.
Don't be afraid
to ask them questions!
Their bright faces,

which follow the sun,
will listen, and all
those rows of seeds -
each one a new life! -

hope for a deeper acquaintance;
each of them, though it stands
in a crowd of many,
like a separate universe,

is lonely, the long work
of turning their lives
into a celebration
is not easy. Come

and let us talk with those modest faces,
the simple garments of leaves,
the coarse roots in the earth
so uprightly burning.

- Mary Oliver
from the Book "Dream Work"

In late August, it feels like every yard in the neighborhood is growing sunflowers. They loll their friendly faces over tall fences and stretch upward on impossibly thin stalks. I was thinking about them and then stumbled over this poem by Mary Oliver and wanted to share it with you all. The picture above was taken during this morning's walk and the yellow and orange of the sunflowers and marigolds seemed to pulse in the gray light. I salute this homeowner for such a cheery front yard.

The town is buzzing with preparation for the upcoming Ellensburg Rodeo. I am unfamiliar with the sport, but our town has been hosting since 1923 and it is now considered one of the top 10 Rodeo's in the US. The participants are world-class and I'm looking forward to taking it all in (and hopefully some good fair food too!)

Best wishes to all for the week ahead.