Wednesday, April 26, 2006

The Dandelion



The dandelion
Some see as a nuisance or worse
A weed that should be exterminated
Yet despite extreme efforts
Keeps coming back

But to me
The dandelion
Brings back fun-filled memories
Of childhood
Of exuberance and persistence

How we colored
Each other's noses and cheeks
With the yellow dandelion flower
In a frolic of mischief and delight
As we snuck up on each other

And when the dandelion seeded
We sought and created the winds
To see the fluffy seeds
With wings of cotton take flight
Over the fields or better yet into a sibling's face


14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great minds think alike...I have a lot of these popping up in my yard and I went out this morning and photographed them as well.

Loved your words, my kids do just this and also always make a wish.

Really, really lovely. Nice job as usual.
a.

San Nakji said...

How can you hate a dandelion. I have the same memories as you Tim!

Cergie said...

How have you take such good photos with canon powershot, Tim ?
Dandelion, in French dent de lion or pissenlit ( that means, excuse me, piss in bed) is very, very good to eat when young with hard-boiled eggs.

Bobby said...

That takes me back. As an adult, I have had many battles with dandelions and other weeds. But yeah, I used to love them. I remember blowing on them -- I'd all but forgotten.

spicebear said...

this has brought back great memories from my childhood, you have a way with words!

thank you for passing by my part of blogworld, you are welcome to do so anytime. i wil most definately be back, your site has piqued my interest.

Minka said...

I used to do all of this and what lovely memories they are. I remember coming home after school, with yellow dots all over my arms, that took quite a bit of soap to clean. And blowing the white little stars(as I used to call them) was a great activity :)
Thank you for bringing back these memories:)

Tim Rice said...

Hi, andrea. It's fascinating how we people often think alike. Glad you enjoyed my prose. And thanks for coming by!

Thanks, san nakji. It's neat to know that people from all over the world have some of the same experiences and memories.

Hi, cergie. Dandelion, indeed, is good to eat when tender and young although some of my siblings would disagree. I like it made in a white sauce with small pieces of bacon -- the way my mom made it.

Hi, bobby. Thanks for coming by. Hope you enjoyed traveling back into your past. :)

Thanks, spicebear, for your words. It is always neat to know that others appreciate what one writes and posts. And I'm glad it brought back great memories from your childhood. You are welcome here.

Thanks, minka. And thanks for sharing a little bit of your memories. I think it does us good to recall a bit of our past every now and then.

RubySoho said...

WOW, amazing photos. You never fail to impress me Tim. I love your poem to accompany the pictures. You took me back in time to when I was in elementary school. Such beautiful memories.

christina said...

I love dandelions! Your pictures bring back fond childhood memories and the photo of the seed-head is incredible.

Tim Rice said...

Thanks, rubysoho. Glad I could provide you a bit of pleasure with my photos and poem. Isn't it neat to travel back in time with pleasant memories?

Thanks, christina. I especially like the dandelion seedhead photo, too. It came out so sharply focused. Good memories like these are to be treasured.

Ginnie Hart said...

I so agree--the two photos are wonderful, like two sides of a coin. You can't have one without the other! Memories included.

Tim Rice said...

How true, ginnie, how true!

Trailady said...

Yes, indeed! It's amazing how as children, we love the dandelion and as adults we attempt to annhilate them with herbicides. I find dandelions to be very cheerful.

Tim Rice said...

Hi, trailady. How we change over our lifetimes sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. But the dandelion is a great flower even if it is a nuisance at times.