Sunflower poems

Details: Hits: 827

The Sunflower by Dora Greenwell

Till the slow daylight pale,
A willing slave, fast bound to one above,
I wait; he seems to speed, and change, and fail;
I know he will not move.

I lift my golden orb
To his, unsmitten when the roses die,
And in my broad and burning disk absorb
The splendors of his eye.

His eye is like a clear
Keen flame that searches through me; I must droop
Upon my stalk, I cannot reach his sphere;
To mine he cannot stoop.

I win not my desire,
And yet I fail not of my guerdon, lo!
A thousand flickering darts and tongues of fire
Around me spread and glow;

All rayed and crowned, I miss
No queenly state until the summer wane,
The hours flit by; none knoweth of my bliss,
And none has guessed my pain;

I follow one above,
I track the shadow of his steps, I grow
Most like to him I love
Of all that shines below.

Details: Hits: 840

Ah! Sunflower! by William Blake

Ah! Sunflower, weary of time,
Who countest the steps of the sun,
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where the traveler's journey is done;
Where the youth pined away with desire,
And the pale virgin shrouded in snow,
Arise from their graves, and aspire
Where my sunflower wishes to go!

Details: Hits: 862

Serenade of the Sunflowers by Harry Edward Mills

We are the original settlers,
And this is our commonwealth
We ever shall claim
Both the name
And the fame
Which the squatter has taken by stealth.

We came with the elk and the cactus
Not yet was the Indian here
And still we remain
Though the grain
Of the plain
Has banished the bison and deer.

We never would yield to invasion,
Though enemies thickened around.
When corn, wheat and rye
Raised their high
Battle cry
We laughed at their blusterous sound.

We cheered when the plowman attacked us:
His furrows we hailed with delight.
Wherever he trod
Every rod
Of his sod
We seized as a prize of the fight.

The Sun is our gallant defender;
We thrive in his furious glow
Then withers the maize
In the blaze
Of his rays,
But we only flourish and grow.

They wanted a title for Kansas,
A title resplendent and great
A name
That should shame
Every claim
To her fame
So they called her the Sunflower State.

Details: Hits: 904

An Ode to the Kansas Sunflower by Ed Blair

Oh sunflower! The queen of all flowers,
No other with you can compare,
The roadside and fields are made golden
Because of your bright presence there.
Above all the weeds that surround you
You raise to the sun your bright head,
Embroidering beautiful landscapes
Your absence would leave brown and dead.

Oh queen of the September morning
You watch for the first ray of sun,
And salute the bright orb as it travels
Till the bright day of autumn is done.
Tho' sickles may slay in the pasture,
And the plowman destroy in the field,
Yet, still will the corners and by-ways
The seed for the future years yield.

Then, Sunflower, peep over the fences
And cover the hillsides with gold,
And out in the cornfields, if tempted,
Again take thy claim as of old;
Salute, too, and nod to the stranger,
Who travels the dusty highway,
He'll worship the sun crown you're wearing
And love you for brightening his way.

So, Sunflower, grow tall in the meadow
And spread to the breezes your arms,
No matter if some do molest you
And try to destroy on the farms,
Let thy stalk all the season still gather
The sunbeams that come dancing by;
And then in September unfold them
To dazzle with splendor the eye.

Details: Hits: 875

Sunflowers by Lottie Brown Allen

Up from the wayside damp and cold
Cut of the early Kansas mold
Blossomed the sunflowers, green and gold,

Eastward turning at dawn’s first light
Hourly drinking the sunbeams bright
Westward waving a fond goodnight.

Kissed by the sunshine and the dew
Under the Kansas skies of blue
Like unto sunflowers, the children grew.

Bright eyes greeting the sun’s first ray
Small hands eager for work or play
Young hearts singing the livelong day.

Kansas sunflowers happy and free
Men and women that grew to be
Builders of Kansas destiny.