Earlier poems: In Back of the Real Summary

In this poem, Ginsberg speaks of sitting in a railroad yard in San Jose, California in 1954. He sees a flower, which sits on a highway by the switchman's shack. The dried out lifeless form of the yellow flower is what catches his eye. This causes him to contemplate the flower and the mechanics of industry and modern civilization around him.

Ginsberg sees this dried out flower, as a flower, yes, but also a representation of industry's effect on the environment around it. The flower sacrificed itself and Ginsberg compares its spiked corolla to Jesus' crown of thorns. Ginsberg ends the poem saying this flower has hope within it - it is the flower of the world and represents holding onto natural beauty.

Earlier poems: In Back of the Real Analysis

Themes...