Portia Steele Award Organization(c)

Honorable Mention Winner, Poetry

For Asoka
by
Cynthia von Hendricks
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Those sunflowers
Didn't ask where they could grow.
Stalks askew,
They make crazy music,
Improvisation from Gillespie's horn,
Flowers gaze in every direction,
But not at the conductor.
They sing a' capella all day long, Forget about the score -
They prefer their own song.

You, my love,
Sleep crooked in bed
And do not apologize.