The Red Sunflower
On Saturday, March 1st, I took a 6.5 mile walk and contemplated the Bahá'í Fast which was to start the next day and other issues that seem to work themselves out while walking.For the past three years I was on antibiotics for sinus infections and overall not in good health. I expected no difference this year. I awakened and realized that Shervin, my oldest, needed his breakfast before it was too late. I prepared breakfast for him and then went to sleep without eating or drinking. I awakened later and to my surprise was able to fast for the remainder of the day. I had dinner with the boys. John, one of the boys that hangs out with us, became a Bahá'í and this is his first fast. That night I had a special dream of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Winrik, for health reasons, has known that he does not need to fast. He also, for reasons that normally hit many teenagers, feels ambiguous about his Bahá'í identity. On Monday, he gave me a rich and beautiful gift. He fasted.
There are two or three poems and stories in my head wanting to come out. However, this poem came to me last night. It may not be my best or worst poem but it is the first I have written for Winrik (He has red hair). I am still fasting with great joy and good health.
The Red Sunflower
From afar the red one would seem
To be nothing more than an oddity
Being looked on with chagrin
From those who choose not to look within
Others choose not to be apart
For they have looked within his heart
And see within that young man
A heart that gives as much as it can
Others wonder at the depth of that mind
Hard placed to find a match in kind
Sharp and probing questions he asks
The apparent clown unmasked
Taxing the speaker
To reach deeper
As a father seeing so much within
Fighting to reach out and begin
To be a man in this world of ours
The caring heart within
The sharp mind
And happy grin
His hugs of joy know no bounds
His hearty laughter resounds
Yet all these pale when compared
With the greatest gift
This father could have
Like a sunflower turning to the sun
He decided to Fast
His very first one
-Shiidon, March 2008
Winrik, for health reasons, has known that he does not need to fast. He also, for reasons that normally hit many teenagers, feels ambiguous about his Bahá'í identity. On Monday, he gave me a rich and beautiful gift. He fasted.
There are two or three poems and stories in my head wanting to come out. However, this poem came to me last night. It may not be my best or worst poem but it is the first I have written for Winrik (He has red hair). I am still fasting with great joy and good health.
The Red Sunflower
From afar the red one would seem
To be nothing more than an oddity
Being looked on with chagrin
From those who choose not to look within
Others choose not to be apart
For they have looked within his heart
And see within that young man
A heart that gives as much as it can
Others wonder at the depth of that mind
Hard placed to find a match in kind
Sharp and probing questions he asks
The apparent clown unmasked
Taxing the speaker
To reach deeper
As a father seeing so much within
Fighting to reach out and begin
To be a man in this world of ours
The caring heart within
The sharp mind
And happy grin
His hugs of joy know no bounds
His hearty laughter resounds
Yet all these pale when compared
With the greatest gift
This father could have
Like a sunflower turning to the sun
He decided to Fast
His very first one
-Shiidon, March 2008
posted by Shiidon at 12:46 PM
3 Comments:
Oh our dear Winrik! He is a marvel. The love and respect you have for him flies off the page.
We, too, love him. . . Thank God for Winrik!!!
i love hearing of a father's love for his son; seeing the best in him, honoring his gifts and talents... focusing on the spiritual aspects ('questions' is an attribute of God)
I think this is my all time favorite of your poems. Lovely!
Brenda
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