-->-A Follow-Up Poem To ‘Going Native’-

“A weed is but an unloved flower.”
Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Music: After The Sunrise

A sudden welcome warm spell
After a long and atrocious winter
Everything sprouting up, overnight
Tree leaves greening, wildflowers a stir

And, lo and behold, out my window
I spot gobs of dandelions on my lawn
What a truly marvelous sight after so long
I rush outside to greet this Dandelion Dawn

I have always admired these flowering ‘weeds’
Although most of my neighbors now despise them
While I allow them to grow and to flourish on my lawn
Most will spray them with toxic chemicals again and again

There once was a time on this planet when they were welcomed
Before the pesticide companies began their diabolical campaigns
Once upon a time, we respected all types of flowering wild plants
As one who has ‘Gone Native’ I wish we could experience that again

Dandelions are believed to have evolved about 30 million years ago
People relished them as food and as medicine, for countless centuries
Once upon a time, people made Dandelion Tea and Dandelion Wine
Yet today, they like so many natural things, are despised by our society

And now, as most of my neighbors curse them and kill them with chemicals
I will once again incur their wrath, as I welcome these ‘weeds’ on my lawn
But I could care less, since I’ve learned to love everything that nature offers
Including wild animals and wild flowers, as I rejoice in this Dandelion Dawn

©Spring 2014, Mr. Ed