These sunflowers
are the most gorgeous
I have ever seen.

We bought them
at the farmers’ market—
$25 is a fortune,
but we didn’t realize
until they were
already in our hands.

Now they sit firmly
in this one-off vase
created by an artist
we especially admired.
A wedding present.

And now these eyes.

Insistent as earth,
flagrantly golden
coronas that all
but stop time
right in the center
of every meal.

I can’t tear my eyes away.

It’s a form of sun-worship
indoors and in our lives.

We wait until
the very last moment
to take them
to the compost heap,

where even then
they glow like stars
against the ground.

– David Radavich