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August 13, 2002
The Evening and the Day
Summer is the Sun.Reveling in it, or avoiding it.
We've had a heat wave, and despite a couple of powerful storms, the effects of the drought are now evident. Curled edges and premature colors advance the argument for Autumn.
Still, the Wildflower Meadow is in good shape, now grown tall. There a daily dance takes place between the sunshine and the twilight. In the hours at the edge of daytime the Evening Primrose holds sway. The pale yellow flowers spread their petals wide for the night, but soon clench up beneath the day's bright eye.
A Daisy then must take the lead; the family has many branches, but great among them are the Sunflowers. In the Park, the biggest of these is the Jerusalem Artichoke. While the Primrose nods, the Sunflower aspires skyward, a namesake chasing its name. But it goes awry when darkness comes, lost among alien insects while Primrose pollen hangs invisible upon the air.
The eye that looks into the Sun is blinded by the night.
The Earth turns, and day returns, and Summer cycles on.
Summer is the Sun, but Sunflowers must go to seed, and even the Primrose cannot tell whether it's the days that are getting shorter, or the nights getting longer.
Even so, while Summer lasts,
they dance.