It is fall now, not spring.
But, dandelions have one last fling.
I offer two dandelion poems (accompanied by an apology to Jane Sturgeon to whom I have already quoted them).
The first poem is one, which I memorized in elementary school, and still comes to mind every time that I see a dandelion. It is written by Sir Edward Arthur Drummond Bliss.
The second poem was written by my daughter, Anne Catherine Hofer, in 1999, when she was 16. It complements the former poem and may well be my daughter’s response to my frequent quoting of the Bliss poem.
My hope is that the pair make you smile.
The Dandelion
The dandelion is brave and gay And loves to sit beside the way; A braver thing was never seen, To praise the grass for growing green; You never saw a gayer thing, To sit and smile and praise the spring. The children with their simple hearts, The lazy men that come in carts, The little dogs that lollop by, They all have seen its shining eye, Any every one of them would say They never saw a thing so gay.
Dandelion Puff
Hey you, yes you, come over here!
Come let me whisper in your ear.
I won’t sting you I promise, please?
(unless of course I’m filled with bees)
But really, look I’m only fluffy
There is no reason to be stuffy
Don’t you just feel the urge…
The desire… the NEED…to ..
pick me?
I don’t care a bit
I do declare, go ahead!
But that is not enough you know
Why don’t you go ahead and blow?
I am so frail, oh can’t you see?
A puff of wind would total me.
It will take place eventually,
So go ahead and hear my plea
Send me scattering through the air,
And please perform it with some – OH!
Why ….thank you.
You won’t regret it….
…next year…..
… I’ll bring……
…..a lot of friends!
jstansfeld 
I love the second poem very much; it’s freer than the first but mostly because you’ve given the dandelion a voice 🙂
Both poems brought smiles for me, Jane.
The second held much promise and speaks of eternity.
You’ve one talented daughter, Jane.
If she keeps at it, she will do well with certainty.
My apologies, for this poor ditty
Tone deaf that I am, but don’t pity 🙂
Cheers!
Eric
You do quite well yourself as a poet, especially as it was probably written quite quickly.
It’s lovely to see both the poems here, Jane. I love your daughter’s. They have both put a smile on my face, as there is something so cheery about dandelions and the wishes they hold. Hugs to you. ❤
Of course you are a bubbly loving person so I’d expect you to smile. I thank you.
Your daughter did very well for her age. My grand daughter is trying her luck to get her first novel published at your daughter’s approximate age at that time. So far she hasn’t succeeded but I encourage her to keep trying. 🙂
She can always self publish – it seems that more and more are going this way. She must have relent and perseverance; how proud you must be!
I will suggest that to her. At the moment she’s editing the first novel over again and working on her second. 🙂
As you know editing ism’t as much fun as writing. I wish her luck.