My black-eyed susans

took a lot of care all summer,

cultivating, nurturing, watering, pruning—

a lot of work for me, the gardener—

whose old knees don’t bend so easily anymore.

But oh such JOY

those black-eyed susan’s brought me

all summer long —

their bright yellow faces and dark brown eyes

made me smile each time

I was in their presence.

But now as Autumn creeps in

I look at these once beautiful flowers

and see that they are fast fading

and will soon be gone.

As I sit on my garden bench, I ponder.

I could easily focus on

all the cultivating I had to do

all summer as the gardener,

or I could focus on

the flowers and the joy they brought me.

I chose to focus on the beauty of the flowers

and the joy I’ve experienced all summer.

And I ponder a little more and think about

how Autumn has crept into my life,

and I feel myself fading and wilting.

As I do, I hope others will focus on

me as a bright smiling flower

who perhaps brought them a little joy

when they were in my presence —

rather than focusing on the

fact that I’m fading and wilting.