This poem is from a Sunflower Seed Initiative participant from Massachusetts. I appreciate the heart that she put into these well-spoken words, reminding us not to forget the children of Ukraine as the war grinds on and on. From the author: "I wrote it [the poem] specifically for your cause and I hope that it can help in some way.:

The golden light moves across the sky,

A young flower follows its progress.

The light’s descent is gentle, bringing LIFE.

The flower is stretching, reaching,

Turning its head toward the brightness,

Hungry for the sun, for the warmth it calls home.

The red-gold light moves across the sky,

A child follows its progress.

The light’s descent is harsh and rapid, bringing DEATH.

The child is stretching his arms out, reaching for hands to grasp,

Turning his head away from the brightness.

He is hungry for PEACE, for the warmth he used to call home.

Oh Children of the Sunflower,

Your eyes reflect a wasted landscape.

Your parents lie beneath a banner of blue and yellow.

You are stretching, reaching, turning your head in a sky filled with smoke.

At your feet are the trampled petals left in the wake of destruction,

But still, you are hungry for the sun,

For some warmth to call home.

The golden light still moves across the sky,

The young child follows its progress.

The light’s descent is gentle, reminding us of LIFE.

The child looks at where the sun is touching,

He is stretching, reaching his arms out to the earth,

Among the fallen sunflowers, rests a seed.