Monday, April 26, 2010

Just dandy (aka "The lion's mane")

Some stand tall, others fall short,
but they are all proud.
Seeds hurled forth on the slightest
of breezes,
but only after its vibrant lemon yellow is
interrupted
by the black banding of a bumble bee.
A name coming from the French
- dent de lion -
translated as "tooth of the lion,"
it is not nearly as fierce as its name implies.
No, quite to the contrary.
Fields of delightful golden pompoms soon
give way 
to a dreamy white haze.
Their delicate lace fingers reach out,
seeds on parachutes,
floating to realms unknown.
They are whispers of
the summers of our youth.
Don't tell me "This is a weed."
I will counter with "This is a thing of beauty."



Today's poem does not come from a writing prompt. Rather, it was inspired by the many photos I have taken recently of dandelions in all kinds of light, in all stages of being (well, mostly). This poem has been coming on for a few days, after taking the time to study the intricacies of this fine flower. For an example of a recent photo from my dandelion collection, please see "dandelion sunset" on my photography blog.



Day 26

5 comments:

Julie Jordan Scott said...

BRAVA! Some of my favorite flowers are what others call WEED:

The concluding lines were exceptionally delightful!

Read my Day 26 poem here:

KaHolly said...

Hear, hear!! Wonderful tribute to the dandelion. There's little more beautiful than fields full of them. They have a lot of medicinal magic, as well, or so I understand.

Heather said...

Julie - Yes, I also enjoy many other flowers that others call "weeds." Sometimes I even like those flowers that are non-native invasives! I'll stop by and check out your day 26 poem.

Karen - I'm not familiar with the medicinal benefits, but I was just reading an article yesterday about how people just about everywhere in the world EXCEPT North America appreciate dandelions by eating them (something that only the "hippies" do here).

lifeuponlife said...

Nice one--I love dandelions! Thanks for visiting my site. Sad to see Napowrimo end...

Heather said...

life - Thanks for stopping by. I'm sad to see it end too, but I've slacked off here at the end.