Forget-Me-Not by Ellen J Baddeley (15, United Kingdom)*

​Forget-me-not when I wander past you on the canal side,
When dozens of you fairies guide me on my way.
Wave me through the wind in a massive blue tide,
As you evolve into a great ocean all at once.
Let my hands run through your rosette clusters,
Soft purity that cushions me like a cloud.
Your indigo paint drips onto my fingertips,
Washing my hands in your tender faith.

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Forget-me-not when I find you as a hidden gem.
A mouse ear peeking from grey-furred leaves.
They may just be a few of you coiled in a stem
With your offspring, bearing petals of butter and milk.
Starting June, you elongate, unfurl and fluoresce,
Bearing your nourishing fruit of tulip-shaped pods,
For you are mother and child of the hill side and lake,
For you are nature’s wild spirit rebirthing since time.

​Forget-me-not when there’s no more blue.
Forget-me-not when I forget you.