The Delightful Dandelion

by Rose McFarland

Artist ALEXANDRA DAWE

I have many nicknames and Lion’s Tooth is one

Also Butter Flower, Puff Ball and Faceclock join the fun

But another name I go by when I come in early spring

Is Dandelion, wild and gold, I’m such a lovely thing

Sometimes I grow in patch’s, sometimes I stand alone

Often found on hillsides or green grasses I am sown

I’m called a weed by gardeners, which really isn’t fair

But other’s like me as I am so I do not despair

Black bears like to eat me as they forage on the ground

Along with deer and rabbits, I am tasty they have found

Often people cook me in a tea they want to drink

My Grandma used to make it, she could brew it in a wink

If I’m left alone through summer, and my time has come to go

My petals slowly wilt off and a dome of white will show

As the wind blows through it catches the sails within my crown

Lifting them up in the air, to blow around and round

In this way I travel, to a new place I’ll call home

Knowing once I find it, I’ll no longer have to roam

Touching down upon the ground I sleep the winter through

And then next Spring, I’ll come to life, and grow up just for you