“Flowers are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty
outvalues all the utilities of the world.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Into a lovely garden I venture
With a camera to take a picture
Not expecting some sudden adventure
A paradise of creeping creatures
Like that multi-legged caterpillar
It’s feet clamped around a tall slender stem
With the intent of being a raider
That is something I cannot comprehend
Just how I can think him an intruder
One might say he’s even a perfect match
In this paradise of a garden patch
eyeing that bloom for a delicious lunch
What is it he has in his greedy sight
His many spear-like hairs gleaming with light
I hope I do not hear a fatal crunch
A flower has nothing more than beauty
Which is worth more than man’s utility
– Ben Gieske, October 1, 2009
