The Sunflowers Poem by Kevin Kiely

And from a fixity of these flowers he became sunflowers
yellow on yellow on yellow

and a friend took action and painted him in a painting
painting the sunflowers

it was sunny Gauguin who put his sunflowers
in a carrier bag on a chair with a white shirt
across the back of it―

but Van Gogh returned to sunflower-paintings
wheels of petals, charcoal axels, wheels of fire
until taking revenge on himself.

The dying soldier in the infirmary
in the killing factories
asked Wiesenthal for forgiveness

dead soldiers were buried
according to regulations:
on each grave, a sunflower

showering perfume on the earth
the gold leaves, disc-plates
full of striped seeds nourishing
ripening the green stalks
of the flowery torches swaying
in homage to the sun.

Wiesenthal could never forgive this
and became a professional hunter
exemplary in action
dedicated to revenge
for his fellow victims.

Artaud created a theory showing the artist
motivated by revenge
making art a dish warmed up to eat.

Be still and consider the sunflowers
taller than humans
below a mammoth golden Buddha
his down-gazing eyes
are not in time except for the smile
that is in shadow