In The Depths Of The British Museum

 
in the depths of the British Museum,
in a small basement, largely neglected,
lie bronze, papyrus and bacteria,
packed in crates, unopened, undetected...

there is one, beneath the rest, wherein lies
a corpse, bequeathed in 1893...
it is forgotten and unclassified,
donated, it seems, anonymously...

            ****************

he was a keen butterfly collector,
he grew lavender and came from Provence...
and why he was left to the museum
had all to do with these sunflowers, once...