Rudbeckia hirta

Photo: assassin bug nymph on black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta) flower.

Oh black-eyed susan,

You pretty yellow flower,

You fill the native garden

With your great power.

When summer arrives

You open your bright face,

But the next thing I know

You're all over the place!

Your fuzzy dark center,

Of which you are named,

Will make myriad seeds

That cannot be tamed.

Your fuzzy green stalk

Looks deceptively soft,

But your hairs can be painful -

I'm reminded quite oft.

Still, no one and nothing

Is without a few faults,

And you have many features

Of which to exalt.

I cannot blame you

For being so tough,

Because it's amazing

You survive where it's rough.

Through blazing bright sun

With temps hotter and hotter

Your happy blooms open

Even with little water.

Each stem and flower

Provides a small shelter

For the teeniest spiders

That run helter-skelter.

Your nectar and seeds

Provide much-needed food,

And even your leaves

Are frequently chewed.

You live long and prosper

Inside in a vase,

And fill with warm beauty

Any old place.

So really, I'm happy

To have you around,

And sorry's the garden

Where you cannot be found.

- Lana Dion

1/7/22

Behind the poem

This started as an exercise for a poetry workshop on Coursera, but I really didn't like how it was going with the constraints of the assignment so I decided to write it how I liked and do something else for the exercise. After writing I realized I can't actually remember how long these flowers last in a vase, haha. I don't usually cut flowers to bring inside, partly because I want to leave them for the wildlife and partly because there are few places to put them that the cats can't reach. 😅 I think it's fun to imagine this as a children's story somewhat in the style of a Dr. Seuss book. =)