Yellow Buttercups

I saw two yellow buttercups
Placed in a white vase
Surrounded by green leaves
And wondered, what if they were planted
In the ground, in a really dark cave,
Where only a small beam hit them daily.
And through that narrow space
Where the sun shone through
They would recieve a small amount of rain water
In addition to the moisture in the cave.
But they would survive.
The love of nature, the love of the other,
The love of life would help them survive.
And so as I look and see my mom and dad
Placed at the table on this summer day
Surrounded by loved ones, kids and grandkids
I wonder, do they think of their old times
When people talked of their home, as if it were a cave
And they talked about Dad's job and how
They did everything they could to make end's meat.
But everyone knew they would get by
The love of each other, the love of life,
The love of God would let them survive.