Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Dandelions

These happy flowers will be out soon.  They are the first to spring up here, seemingly waiting under the snow for spring to arrive and melt the snow down to where you can see their sunny faces!  And if you would like to read more dandelion poems, head over to Poetry Jam, where Alan has links to other original dandelion poetry.  Check back throughout the week as more poems are added!
Find out more information about this flower, and other names it can go by in other countries here.
If you want to see how my husband and I learned to become responsible homeowners, you can go to The Lawn Less Mowed. There are dandelions involved.


How to Know a Dandelion

green teeth as
lion’s ilk,
hollow straw of
bitter milk,
yellow burst with
sunny face,
hoary head for
seedy race

©Donna JT Smith, 2014
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And here is an older poem I'd written and posted for the 2012 A to Z challenge for the letter Y, that is also about a dandelion.  It is written as a Yadu* - a tricky form.

Y is for Yellow

yellow sun floods
the field buds bright
in mud of spring
the birds sing of
the bling of yellow dandelions

© 2012, Donna JT Smith

*The yadu (ya-du and yatu) is a Burmese form of poetry which consists of up to three stanzas of five lines. The first four lines of a stanza have four syllables each, but the fifth line can have 5, 7, 9 , or 11 syllables. A yadu should contain references to the seasons.
It has a climbing rhyme. The rhyme is on the fourth, third, and second syllables of both the first three lines and the last three lines.

29 comments:

  1. I love the 'yellow burst with sunny face.' That describes a dandelion perfectly!

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  2. i like the dance in your rhyme...cool rhyme scheme...
    i am rather fond of dandelions
    i think i tasted one as a kid and dont
    remember it tasting all that great.

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    Replies
    1. You are right. As a kid, I'd forget to wash my hands after picking some, and then eat lunch. So, so bitter!

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  3. Oh so very nice to write poems for the lowly dandelion! When I was little I always got so excited about seeing dandelions popping out. Then as an adult and a homeowner I only saw them as pests.

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    1. I just added this link above: http://mainelywrite.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-lawn-less-mowed.html
      a story about becoming an adult and a homeowner and our dandelion lesson.

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  4. Great use of a form I had never heard of! I like the images in your poem.

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    1. It was a challenge, but aren't poetry challenges fun!

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  5. Yellow burst - great image and wonderfully written. Original and lovely.

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    1. Thanks, Alan! Oh, to have some dandelions now! Snow storm coming in at noon tomorrow.

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  6. The bling of dandelions... I love that!

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    1. They do have a certain bling to them! Thanks for dropping by!

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  7. enjoyed; have a nice Wednesday

    much love...

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    Replies
    1. Today was a beautiful, cold day...not looking forward to the snow tomorrow.

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  8. I tasted Dandelion Wine once - can't remember the exact taste only that I didn't like it. Maybe it was the bitter milk that gave it the bad taste!

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    Replies
    1. Never had it. I can't imagine how it could be anything but bitter!

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  9. I enjoyed both of these. The Yadu sounds like a complicated form but looks like you did it well.

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    1. Thanks, Peggy. It was an interesting form. I kind of enjoyed it.

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  10. Nice to hear about a little 'bling' in Maine, Donna. Hope this storm isn't too bad. It's so hard to tell from the news. They're so sensational! Thanks for the poems.

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    1. We don't have dandelions yet, but I bought myself some mini-daffodils that are blooming in the kitchen window!
      It is supposed to be a fairly big storm. I'll let you know how it goes!

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  11. I love this: Dandelions are the "Bling" in a garden! Oh so perfect!

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    1. We have more wild "bling" here than intentionally planted "bling"! If a garden can take care of itself, that's my kind of garden!

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  12. Some merry metaphors in this sunny, fun piece.

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    1. Some pieces are just fun to write. This was one of those.

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  13. love 'the bling of yellow dandelions' ... what a great image!

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  14. Both poems are wonderful, Donna. I was not familiar with the Yadu, and now I must experiment with this form.

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    1. Thanks, Nicholas! I enjoyed working within the parameters of the Yadu. It's a fun format. Hope to read one of yours sometime!

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