Mariah Leach’s Defiant Daffodils
They were such a steady sign of spring
and, more than that,
of hope and the extravagant beauty
the cold ground could hold
that they captivated her gaze
year after year,
and she couldn’t help but see them
and celebrate their joyful presence
with at least one quick photo.
Looking back now
a parade of children joined them
also beckoned by the intense gold
when sun lit petal cells until they glowed.
Now they’ve pushed through
the burned crust of what was,
the tips of their long green leaves
yellowed by flame, singed
but still singing their spring song.
They refuse not to witness,
to not assert joy in a scene
where despair is easy to give way to.
This is what we do:
we press on and up
pushing aside impervious barriers
finding the sun through the intense dark cold.
We stand defiant among the wreckage.
We simply do what we’ve been made to do.
We grow. We shine.
