The poppies I planted in my garden in the autumn are blooming wonderfully. I’ve been enjoying photographing them, this year focusing on the core of the flower. The first image (below) shows a poppy core going to seed with the petals having fallen away. This reminds me of some kind of existential life force that populates the universe.

A more complete poppy core is shown below, against a luscious background that is almost fabric-like in its folds.

Altogether, each flower is different, with variations both overall (note the straight lines in the core about versus the not-quite-rectilinear lines in the core below).

For the most part, these flowers remind me of the life force. But sometimes, depending on the lights and shadows, there is darkness in the images, and the small space of the flowers becomes the vast contours of the universe.

Closer in (below), the core of this Papaver somniferum (“opium poppy”) looks like a planet surrounded by a night sky. Sweet dreams!