Loving the humble dandelion (Part Two)
If you have time and feel like it, please check out the heartfelt praise of dandelions that two dandelion enthusiasts have added in the comments section of my May 26 post on Facebook comparing my late wife Anne to a dandelion. Their dandelion stories are fascinating and very well written.
And here’s more dandelion lore:
What are the benefits of Dandelions?
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is a flowering plant commonly considered a weed, but its leaves, roots, flowers, and seeds have long been used in traditional medicine and food systems around the world.
Today, research suggests that dandelion may offer an array of potential health benefits, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, support for digestion, and possible metabolic benefits.
The humble dandelion also inspires musicians and poets
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/in-praise-of-the-dandelion/
In Praise of the Dandelion
By John Rickell
Put down your hoe and knife
Take up the lute and sing
Taraxacum the Golden !
Penny-round, shining everywhere
Loyal despite our scorn.
I walk the lanes and city streets,
See golden flowers everywhere,
Long stems in country lanes,
No taller than the grass
Waving in the breeze
Short in tarmac pavement.
Changeless flower
None to spoil the golden head
No orange lips, as with the daffodil
No silly names like ‘Chorus Girl’
On plastic packets in the shop
Wild-child of nature,
Taraxacum for ever.
Composite and penny -round
Perfect in the rain
Golden now and ever.
Sportsmen with their clubs and bats,
Studded boots and stinking vests
Blame you for the errant ball
And blackened eye.
As children home from school
We blew away our time,
Destroyed that perfect symmetry,
Scorned to take it home to Mum
For fear you wet the bed.
Cut the stem, it makes a whistle,
Take a root and you have coffee,
Suck the honey from the flower
Rosette leaves in salad
Antidote for port.
Today it shines for us,
(At least for those who look)
Yellow gold and willing,
Friendly with the daisy,
Close as salt and pepper.
Ode to a Dandelion
A wistful tune from Wonder Under by Glad Rags
https://gladragsmusic.bandcamp.com/track/ode-to-a-dandelion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnxgxtLDRNc
This sad song is about flowers, love, loss, and longing.
all the autumn leaves
blowing through the trees
like flying on the breeze
like all the birds and bees
buzz
buzz
buzz
busying in the spring
i feel so naturally
how its supposed to be
with you in the sun
the shade is left for me
i know just how this feels
sad
sad
sad
i’m sinking in my heels
and oh, just like the fields in bloom
you’re turning heads just like flowers do (no, no, no)
when turning my hands to you
when i am gone
i’m running back to you
And here is my modest poetic contribution to the rehabilitation of the humble dandelion:
https://robertmcbrydeauthor.com/anne-patron-saint-of-dandelions/
My dearest departed Anne was herself a doughty dandelion, who “loved the small gold uprisings in the grass,
those bright, stubborn lanterns everyone else called weeds.”
Your friend,
Robert
https://robertmcbrydeauthor.com/
If you feel like reading more about Anne’s cancer journey, I’ve chronicled it in prose and poetry here:
https://robertmcbrydeauthor.com/news/
