July 1, 2025
In honor of Canada Day and in deep regard for our neighbors to the north of the USA, I am pleased to post a poem by Canadian poet and photographer Monique Heintzman. Today seems a particularly fitting day for this poem after our Senate has just approved (by one vote) a bill that will cut healthcare from millions of people here in this country, a deplorable action just three days from our Independence Day that promises “justice and liberty for all.”
Monique’s poem was written to and for Ukraine after the Russian invasion, but it speaks to both the resistance (“stand their ground”) and the resilience (“rise and thrive”) required by those of us here in the U.S.A who seek a way of love, truth, justice, decency, and peace.
Brave Sunflowers – For the people of Ukraine
Sunflowers are bold in the face of danger.
They stand their ground –
Proudly
Courageously,
With dignity,
knowing that their roots are firmly planted
deep in the ground that holds them –
deeper than anyone could ever imagine,
tapping into a bottomless reservoir
that will sustain them –
come what may.
They turn their faces to the sun,
as they always do,
finding energy and warmth
to keep growing,
to keep going,
even though the world,
as they have known it,
is crumbling all around them.
Sunflowers are strong and resilient.
They will rise and thrive,
where others would shrivel and die.
(c) Monique Heintzman, April 2022.
Prompts: what roots you? Do you have a “bottomless reservoir?” To whom or what do you turn to find energy and warmth? How do you respond to this poem?
Standing with you,
Rosemary
Photo credit: Monique Heintzman
Ms. Heintzman lives in Chelsea, Quebec – home of Gatineau Park, a conservation park in Canada’s National Capital Region – with her husband and daughter. Her photography can be found at https://moniqueheintzmanphotos.com/. She is also a published poet who enjoys the intersection of spirituality and the arts.
Spirit Reflections 