2 poems by Charles K. Carter : Sunflower Meditations & Birthright from Fevers of the Mind 5 Overcome Anthology

Sunflower Meditations

I want to be like 
a sunflower: to be young and to follow 
the sun’s glow, to be old and 

continue growing 
tall even as death knocks on 
its door, to keep its 

head up even as 
it witnesses the loss of 
the other life, keep 

climbing high as if 
attempting to reach the sun’s 
sacred salvation.

Birthright

My father is the fly that circles around dead and already digested things, 
drinking his diet of decay, dreaming of nothing grander than this fly-by dive, 
thriving on destruction. Eventually, he developed into what he consumes: 
a diminished fraction of what he once was, a dim decaying shell of a bug 
buzzing circles around his deformed body’s demolition. 

I am a product of reproduction. I am a fly because my father was
but I have a fondness for the sweeter things. I find fulfillment on ripened fruit. 
The pulpy pit of a peach pulls me away from the puzzling predicament of 
my fly-status birthright. I may be from the Diptera order but I will paint 
these wings – hope for a butterfly’s beauty or a dragonfly’s grace.





Bio: Charles K. Carter is a queer poet and educator from Iowa. He shares his home with his artist husband and his spoiled pets. He enjoys film, yoga, and live music. Melissa Etheridge is his ultimate obsession. He holds an MFA in writing from Lindenwood University. His poems have appeared in several literary journals. He is the author of Chasing Sunshine (Lazy Adventurer Publishing), Splinters (Kelsay Books), and Safety-Pinned Hearts (Alien Buddha Press).


By davidlonan1

David writes poetry, short stories, and writings that'll make you think or laugh, provoking you to examine images in your mind. To submit poetry, photography, art, please send to feversofthemind@gmail.com. Twitter: @davidLOnan1 + @feversof Facebook: DavidLONan1

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