I haven’t seen many dandelions on Crete yet. They are one of my favourite plants – such tenacity! And every part of her can be used as food or medicine. I have some dried dandelion tea though so that will suffice. But I woke thinking of dandelion today; remembering why I love her strength in the face of such adversity, even when whole TV ad campaigns are built around eradicating this most beautiful, useful, giving plant from people’s lives. My holy trinity of plants are dandelion, mint (inc. nettle), and rose. They all sing to me in different ways. I wrote this poem in honour of the dandelions and the way they spread like truth, in rebellion against our orderly ways. Anyway here’s the poem below, or you can listen to an audio of it on bandcamp. It was released on the DRKMTR concept album (an experiment with poetry, noise & visual art with Steve Nicholls – sound/production and Andy Garside – visuals) by DWOH record label back in 2012. Link to audio here.
The Weed
I am a weed, thriving on barren earth
living in the spaces you forgot to spray
with reason,
and in your neatly ordered gardens
I will grow
as your denial digs me deeper into every furrow
of thought.
In undesirable places
my seeds take hold,
bright yellow flowers accentuate
cracks in ordered minds,
and you stamp on my face
cover the ground, deny sunlight.
But I am that thought in your head that will not go away
I can wait
I can wait
for just one single drop of rain to fall my way
and I will grow
I grow with a strength, a persistence
that scares you
you who chooses pretty flowers to match your exciting thoughts
you who tend exotic plants that wilt with the day
you who digs, who toils, who gardens.
I do not need you to survive
when your back is turned I blossom
when the water is scarce I flourish.
I sit with my face to the baking sun
an apparition blown apart
as the earth becomes dust knowing
that I will always live to see another day.
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