Sarah Banks - Zinnia - The Dewdrop

Poet and gardener Sarah Banks revels in the sacredness of a blooming flower in “Zinnia”, the first poem published by The Dewdrop this spring. This small arrangement of couplets is redolent with life, soil, roots, and petals. You can almost smell the zinnia’s heady fragrance as you read Banks’ lines. “‘Zinnia’ explores the complicated nature of doubt through the growth of a flower,” Sarah explained to The Dewdrop. “Regardless of the speaker’s doubt, ‘Zinnia’ focuses on the natural world’s ability to argue for the existence of a divine presence,” she concluded.

Zinnia

A zinnia peeks up and through—
It rises on roots then spins

up and out on yellow-wheeled blooms.
Scanning, it hesitates—

startled at its own gumption.
It’s never trekked up to this height.

Nervy pinwheels, they probe
around to rally resolve, punching

up further then clamping
down roots to force an audience.

Lemon buttons perch high as it suns
for a spell to push its case.

It dives back down and in, pauses,
then circles back up to spring.

And I can almost believe
God’s claim

that his finger dotted
all of its pieces.

Sarah Banks

Sarah Banks writes poetry and short fiction. She lives in Mississippi where she uses the landscape of her home state to inspire her writing. Sarah teaches nursing school and enjoys traveling, hiking, and working in her garden.