weeds
i want to put your youth in my pocket
and save it for a rainy day
i want to tell you dylan thomas was brilliant
and bob dylan was his love child
i want to tell you to listen
but i know you won’t hear anything i say
with my cloak of old age singing me
invisible to you and your friends
i want to tell you nothing kills you but death
not heartbreak or disappointment
failure or ridicule
loss or even down and out
even so
you will die a tiny bit every day
in the same way a tree dies every time
a leaf drops
and a mirage gives up when you see it
but you
and me
we’re all dandelions
growing where we land
sending down our tap root of survival
blooming garishly bright
and then withering grey
and even when we’re spent
there are seeds
to catch a ride on a breeze
and carry us
into tomorrow
so i hold my tongue
because you are young
and i’m just the sun
holding court
with yesterday’s clouds
.
.
.
.
April 9th, 2013 at 8:05 am
just the sun? you are hope, kelly.
April 9th, 2013 at 8:05 am
ahh, youth. you are right – no way to make wisdom visible. only, and of course, you say it so much more wonderfully than i.
April 9th, 2013 at 8:46 am
you simply crush me and amaze me with your words. every time.
April 9th, 2013 at 8:51 am
So well crafted and very wise–given with stoicism, but not resignation. You give a portrait of the humility that comes with experience, expressed beautifully.
April 9th, 2013 at 8:59 am
You most certainly are the sun in my day.
April 9th, 2013 at 9:14 am
Aaaah this is lovely! Feels like a song, and not just because of the Bob Dylan references.
April 9th, 2013 at 9:33 am
This touched my heart! I think this is one of your best!!!!
April 9th, 2013 at 9:41 am
I love to be weeds with you; living for the seeds. So, sow.
April 9th, 2013 at 11:22 am
dandelions…i love them…and love how you use them in this as the metaphor for us…and how we still send the seed…this is really well crafted…
April 9th, 2013 at 12:01 pm
Fortunately, my ears are no longer young so I can hear you right through that cloak.
April 9th, 2013 at 12:38 pm
Oh, Mrs M, you know how I love my dandelions, they truly are one of Gods favorites. This is so beautiful and hopeful….
April 9th, 2013 at 12:54 pm
and even when we’re spent
there are seeds
to catch a ride on a breeze
and carry us
into tomorrow…just love the peace and comfort and hope in this..
April 9th, 2013 at 1:40 pm
I just love this, it is gorgeous. So true that the young generation does not want to listen ..they want to find out on their own..and they don’t realize that so much is still ahead of them. Love this! 🙂
April 9th, 2013 at 1:54 pm
Such an exquisite word alchemist, you are.
April 9th, 2013 at 3:37 pm
I like the idea about being dandelions growing where one lands, etc. Interesting to think about life that way!
April 9th, 2013 at 3:42 pm
Oh Kelly this was so delicate! Loved it!
April 9th, 2013 at 3:58 pm
A beautiful, beautiful poem so full of wisdom.
and even when we’re spent
there are seeds
to catch a ride on a breeze
and carry us
into tomorrow
stunning lines.
April 9th, 2013 at 4:20 pm
I have a teenager, and well… I know nothing. The dandelion imagery is well played. I like how the image of the sun and clouds closely tie into the imagery of the dandelion and seed head. I thoroughly enjoyed stopping by. Thanks.
April 9th, 2013 at 4:35 pm
Oh my goodness. You wrote what I wished I could say to my daughter, and you did it more beautifully than I ever could. Thank you – Mosk
April 9th, 2013 at 4:45 pm
So sweet. I think as parents, we can relate. I especially like catch a ride on a breeze.
April 9th, 2013 at 5:03 pm
I think Paul has written all I want to say – plus from me – a brilliant write. Love how you speak to the child.
April 9th, 2013 at 5:24 pm
This is a beautiful capture, full of truth and hope and love. Brilliant and perfect!
April 9th, 2013 at 6:44 pm
“with my cloak of old age singing me
invisible to you and your friends”
too many great lines here… the opening to the very end filled with wisdom and love
April 9th, 2013 at 7:10 pm
A wonderful ode to a child. Beautiful imagery here.
Pamela
April 9th, 2013 at 9:10 pm
so i hold my tongue
because you are young
and i’m just the sun
holding court
with yesterday’s clouds
LOVE!
April 9th, 2013 at 9:17 pm
I love the wisdom of the ending verse ~
But I also adore this part: we die a tiny bit every day
in the same way a tree dies every time
a leaf drop
April 9th, 2013 at 10:04 pm
“we’re all dandelions
growing where we land”
and so many other wonderful lines, I want to drift on the breeze in your sun filled court!
April 9th, 2013 at 10:44 pm
Beautiful words. I love dandelions, and the seeds on the wind are actually fairies, if you catch one make a wish and let it go again (so mother always told me).
April 9th, 2013 at 11:13 pm
Name checking the double Dylan’s is V cool and of course I love them both and the heartbeat of your PO is shining, sad and surging –
still growing
Life 🙂
April 9th, 2013 at 11:52 pm
“and i’m just the sun
holding court
with yesterday’s clouds”
I loved this! But I truly enjoyed the whole piece. Excellent images.
.
April 10th, 2013 at 12:08 am
“so i hold my tongue
because you are young
and i’m just the sun
holding court
with yesterday’s clouds”
What a fantastic ending. You’re so right; don’t crush the spirit of the younger. It happens on its own with having to be told; one leaf at a time, not the whole of them.
April 10th, 2013 at 12:24 am
One of the finest entries tonight…How utterly beautiful…gives meaning to the times I have rested in fields of Queen Anne Lace…I love “weeds” …fine poetry here Mrs M:))
April 10th, 2013 at 2:16 am
Lovely. I think every parent can relate to this. I loved the way you started the poem and loved the words “catch a ride on a breeze
and carry us into tomorrow”.
Dropping by from dVerse
April 10th, 2013 at 6:26 am
“i want to put your youth in my pocket
and save it for a rainy day” Love this poem 🙂 Libby @Libbypoetry
April 10th, 2013 at 9:17 am
Brilliant poem- just like the sun. Every time I read my favorite line another comes to take its place. Beautifully done. Thank you for sharing this-.
April 10th, 2013 at 9:56 am
That was brilliant! Fantastic realism & love wrapped humbly together bravely with a touch of sad and hope pleasantly mixed — to walk away with the flavor of my choosing.
I wage the youth you write of has learned a great deal from you and your age obstructs little.
April 10th, 2013 at 10:35 am
I wanna be a dandelion!
The young person that you wrote this for should be very proud.
Cheers,
Mark Butkus
April 11th, 2013 at 1:16 pm
I adore this whole poem,
but i know you won’t hear anything i say
with my cloak of old age singing me
invisible to you and your friends
and that is quite insightful – something I fully understand.
April 11th, 2013 at 2:36 pm
I feel every line of this right now. Thank you for expressing what I am living with my children.
April 15th, 2013 at 9:20 pm
I want to tell you this is brilliant
and so I shall,
especially the first two stanzas.