In A Foresaken Field...

...acres of daisies...

Daisies

Over the shoulders and slopes of the dune
I saw the white daisies go down to the sea,
A host in the sunshine, an army in June,
The people God sends us to set our heart free.

The bobolinks rallied them up from the dell,
The orioles whistled them out of the wood;
And all of their singing was, "Earth, it is well!"
And all of their dancing was, "Life, thou art good!"

~"More Songs From Vagabondia" by Bliss Carman and Richard Hovey

Every day when we go home from the gym I always wish I had the camera with me to grab a few shots of the daisies that carpet an enormous empty field near the Town Center. Sunday, I finally remembered to bring it.

Just along the western edge of town, this field is at least ten acres, probably more, with nothing on it except what I call wasteflowers. The ground closest to the road is filled with purple clover, foxglove, tall stalks of brownish grass, and these lovely daisies. These flowers stretch all along the road and back beyond, deep into the field. What once may have been a pasture or a field of hay, corn or pumpkins has been empty for years. Scotch broom infests the center like a solid wall of dark green and school bus yellow barbed-wire. It is marching toward the road, eating up all the slightly better soil now occupied by the daisies and the other wasteflowers. The farm fence came down years ago, and the for sale sign last fall when the banks started failing. There doesn't seem to be any activity in the field, except for these flowers and the birds that live among them. I did see one shredded tire and a few ant hills on my short walk into the field, but I did not discover a deer sleeping in a flattened nest of the tall grasses, or a hidden coyote's den, or a cottontail rabbit nibbling the daisies. But I was prepared to do so.

Here's another shot of the field, to show the clover. It's a small picture and I'm not sure you can see the bumble bees working the sweet purple clover. But they were and working industriously, as expected.

more wasteflowers

I found the poem by William Bliss Carman, who died eighty years ago today. Read more of his work here. He was Canada's "unofficial Poet Laureate" and immensely popular in the United States as well. It's easy to see why -- very uplifting work! And the cheerful tone just seems to fit the subject so well. Daisies always make me smile. I hope they bring you a little happiness, too. And happy hunting for the wasteflowers near your home. They are humble, but they are oh, so beautiful, and like the poets above said,

"Life, thou art good!"

Click here for a huge-sized copy of the daisies and here for a huge copy of the mixed flowers. You may use them for non-commercial purposes only. Enjoy!