Passion Flower
By: Greg Currie
Date: August 1, 1995
Deep in the underground
Of Guelph University
Amidst a labyrinth
Of hallways and doors
Was the graduate lab
Of Martin Thorne
At 25 years, a prodigy
Frames of scholarships and papers
Thorne had studied genetics
Thorne was a scholar of biology
To cement his achievements
He dreamt of Passion Flower
A plant that could thrive
Given the most hazardous of environments
Pollution, drought, and cold
Were not enemies, but allies
As were minerals, water, and sun
To the Passion Flower
A beautiful flower
Of crimson and gold
Petals full and lush
As a lover's lips
With a smooth green stem
That swayed in the wind
And through all seasons
Bloomed the Passion Flower
Then the seeds of Passion Flower
Danced out upon the wind
Out across the lands
And out across the oceans
The roots of Passion Flower
Dug deep into soil and rock
Then one day Passion Flower
Was found at the bottom of the sea
Scientists cheered on
In marvel of the Passion Flower
But then the seas
Began to die
Plants of the sea withered
And fish washed ashore
To rot
Why was this happening?
Cried the scientists
Study found the water
To hold little oxygen
And Passion Flower had spread
Across the ocean floor
The other plants could not survive
The crimson and gold flower
Filled the dead ocean floors
It was at this time
That the scientists became scared
Their stomachs clenching
And their mouths dry
Passion Flower was covering the land
With its endless beauty
Hills and valleys
Plains and roadsides
All were covered
With the Passion Flower
Upon kitchen tables
And in the giving hands of lovers
Sat the Passion Flower
In crimson and gold glory
The small plants withered
The small bushes withered
The large trees became bare
And then fell
In panic
The people burnt and uprooted
Each Passion Flower at hand
Yet again sprang the flower
From root and seed
Gardens and farms
Were overgrown
And the Passion Flower
Crept up from beneath
The pavement and cement
People starved
And became weak
So great became Passion Flower
That the very air became weak
The age of humans and animals
Had finally ended
Even the insects dropped
As they ate the irresistible Passion Flower
From roofs and walls
Sprang the flower
Until finally
Even the buildings fell
And all the world
Was covered by Passion Flower
Was covered by the beauty
Of crimson and gold
An end of the world
At the hands of Thorne's Passion.