By Emily Conner
Behind my father’s farm, there is a sun-dressed field.
Every sunrise, and in my morning clothes, I run
through the clouds and hug the warmth
of the spirits that paint these flowers,
A beautiful yellow. And I kiss the stalks
that dress such beautiful petals.
And after my head is dressed in fallen petals,
I fall upon the cushion of the fields
With love in my eyes. And as I roam these stalks,
I smile to myself and wipe away these tears that run.
I protect these precious flowers
And ask my gods to embrace us all in this warmth.
I drown in this wonderful warmth
And whisper secrets to every petal,
Sing songs to all the flowers.
Every sunrise, I give all my love to this field.
I gather yesterday’s sadness and I run
Through the tallest, most gallant stalks.
But one day, while I ran in the stalks
I saw a man in the distance melting under this warmth.
I watched him stare, then spit, then begin to run.
So, I followed suit, and took off running, trampling the fallen petals.
My love began to burn in my eyes, and I tore through my beloved field.
I heard his footsteps behind me. In front, I pushed away the flowers.
I ran as fast as I could, but I was pushed down by the flowers.
Behind me, the ground plummeted with the man’s stalks.
With yellow fear in my bones, he chased me through my field
Until all I felt was my burning feet and blood that fed me warmth.
He yelled at every bird and tore at all the petals.
And by the time I reached my father's farm, there was nowhere left to run.
I fell upon my sacred ground, my tears continuing to run.
Around my legs, surrounded by dirt, were all my precious flowers.
With shaky hands, I picked off all the petals
And tried to make my legs run from the man who stalks.
I sank into the sun-dressed soil and tried to bury myself in such warmth.
It wasn’t until I stood again that I could look into the field.
Behind me, in my warm flower field, there stood a man.
A man who stood in the stalks with petals all around him.
A man who never ran, for his legs were tied with straw.
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