Beverly Behrens

Summer Milkweed
watercolor
22 x 18 in.

Dear Earth,

You are my inspiration. When I walk the Middlefork Savanna near my home:

From summer— as sunflowers, catchfly royal,
Minarda, brown-eyed Susans loyal,
And other blooms combine,
Lifting their heads to sunshine;
Bright butterflies lend action to the scene, and

Monarchs issue forth, According to your Dear Earth plan,
On their vital, single host, the

Milkweed, now tragic in decline
Across the prairie span.

To winter — as leaves unfurl their colors and wither,
But the sturdy
Milkweed stalks remain,
Their silks and seeds a-shedding,
In wait with us for
Next year’s sowing.

© Beverly Behrens