The Winter of Sunflowers

a tribute to the courage of Ukraine

Sunflowers

This is the winter of sunflowers.
They have bloomed
In snow and smoke;
They have unfurled their petals
Through flame and dark of night,
And did not close.
When sun was gone,
They turned their faces
Toward truth and freedom,
And did not falter
When light failed before sunrise.
And for this their deeds will be remembered
When summer returns with blue skies
And golden fields;
And their memory will bring courage
In dark winters yet to come,
For the sunflower shall not cease to grow.
There shall be times of war
And times of peace
And daybreak of new hope
While life breathes on;
There shall be sowing of fields
And reaping of harvests
And dawning of love
Till the world ends.
But this is the winter of the sunflowers.