The first of a year’s abundance of dandelions
is this single kernel of bright yellow
dropped on our path by the sun, sensing
that we might need some marker to help us
find our way through life, to find a path
over the snow-flattened grass that was
blade by blade unbending into green,
on a morning early in April, this happening
just at the moment I thought we were lost
and I’d stopped to look around, hoping
to see something I recognized. And there
it was, a commonplace dandelion, right
at my feet, the first to bloom, especially
yellow, as if pleased to have been the one,
chosen from all the others, to show us the way.
I got a new book of poetry this week! How to Love the World, edited by James Crews, a collection of poetry about gratitude and hope and love and beauty in the world. I’m excited to have a new source of poems to share with you, to shine a light on the good that exists in small but important ways.
One of the first to catch my eye is this one by Ted Kooser, a wonderful poet and the curator of the online American Life in Poetry for many years. I have always appreciated his taste in concise poems that speak volumes and this is one of his own that meets that criteria.
I haven’t yet seen many dandelions though before long they will be everywhere, that first one a single kernel of bright yellow / dropped on our path by the sun. The poet considers that we might need some marker to help us / find our way through life, after the long winter to find our way over grass blade by blade unbending into green.
Thinking we were lost and looking around, there it is, a commonplace dandelion, the first yellow bloom, as if pleased to have been the one, / chosen from all the others, to show us the way. And there it is, that common flower/weed pointing us to the renewal of life in April, reminding us that spring always arrives and that we will find our way. And yes, I know it is snowing this morning but still… it is spring!
The dandelion is sure a perky delight. It does bring out delight. Some like the wine that it makes as well.
Thanks
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Haven’t tried dandelion wine but I sure do like their happy faces 🙂 xoxo
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I love this, Jan, on a day when violets were blooming under a wet covering of snow in late April. As if we need guidance to find our way into another season, the dandelions come. The book sounds wonderful!
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This wet snow blurs the lines between the seasons but I’m sure there are some dandelions underneath 🙂 xoxoxo
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Thank you Jan! It has just started to snow up here this morning and while Spring seems far off, the bright green buds on the trees are blossoming like promises. I’ll hold the image of that bright yellow dandelion my mind today.
The book sounds wonderful, a prescription for these pandemic times.
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‘bright green buds blossoming like promises’ oh yeah! thanks Patricia xoxoxo
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thanks Jan
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