sunflower in woods

she was seeded beneath the canopies of the harbison,
soil darkened and moist with the blood borne
from broken stems long before yet near in time.
autumn beauty¹, her name splayed
across the forest floor legible only to herself.
before seed and pollen danced her into fruition,
she was told that sun would sustain her.
so she rooted in these marsh lands
of death and decay, held onto her life,
and grew up. her thirst for light radiated
from her heat starved petals, as they stretched
with a painful ache toward each sliver
that found its way between the oaks and birches.
over time she stiffened, hardened til unrecognizable
by sunflower standards. it was not until the trees
surrounding her were cut, broken to their knees
in surrender that her delicate limbs burned
under the glare of the sun.

how cruel it is to exist so long in lack
only to die from finally getting what she needs?

¹ autumn beauty sunflowers are among the rare types of sunflowers that can tolerate and survive in shaded environments. in natural light, their petals appear slightly burned and orange as opposed to the trademark yellow hue of its counterparts. ↩