Tabatha Yeatts has created a link to poems teachers and librarians can print for poetry month, titled "Poetry in The Halls". I'm grateful to be one of the poets!
Jama Rattigan has a post HERE with many poets' goals for April.
The Progressive Poem schedule can be found on the right.
Spring Plea
Their seeds settled in last October,
‘till spring warmth asked for cheerful displays.
Time for bright tender suns tucked into
lackluster rock borders of grey.
I love April’s grass that seems greenest,
the bud-sprouting soft haze of trees,
but first celebrate dandelion
polka-dotting our green fields with ease.
Bees welcome this food for an entree,
come buzzing along for the taste.
Let the in-ground lights stay glowing;
do not remove them in haste.
Linda Baie ©
Taraxacum officinale - Dandelion
Non-native species. A common weed, its solitary flower head, each with numerous yellow ray flowers, tops a hollow, leafless stalk that rises from the center of a rosette of toothed leaves. Stem juice is milky.
The popular name comes from dent de lion, French for lion's tooth, referring to the teeth on the leaves. The young leaves may be used in salads and soups; wine is made from the heads. Several species, some native to high mountain meadows, are similar to the Common Dandelion but may have reddish-brown fruits and outer bracts that do not curl.
Love the "bud-sprouting soft haze of trees"!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the dandelions are pleased you sang their praises today. If I recall correctly, Dickinson did the same once, so you're in good company. :)
Thanks, Jama, I've been reading more about the goodness of dandelions, and love seeing them in our parks, no spraying there! I know Emily D's poem & others, too.
DeleteHurrah for dandelions! Apparently all parts of it are edible and highly nutritious. I however, have never eaten one. I might have tasted a leaf but it was very bitter. You have to harvest them in the very early spring I think for them to be palatable.
ReplyDeleteOne grandmother used to gather them for adding to salads, but that's about it, long before anyone used chemicals on the grass. Thanks, Cheriee!
DeleteJack and I are on a constant quest to find the puff balls to blow. I saw a bunch yesterday on my walk, not so many in his neighborhood. What does one call the ball of fluff? Love your plea:
ReplyDelete" but first celebrate dandelion
polka-dotting our green fields with ease."
and this description:
"Let the in-ground lights stay glowing;"
It may be too early for the puff-balls, here, but I have a favorite picture of Imi blowing one. Thanks, Ramona!
DeleteI love the line, "Let the in-ground lights stay glowing." I will never look at another dandelion without thinking of that line!
ReplyDeleteAw, thanks, Carol. I have so loved seeing the dandelions appear this spring, especially in all the little parks, meaning to me no chemicals being used. Thanks!
DeleteOh, how I love "the bud-sprouting soft haze of trees" and the "polka-dotting" and the "in-ground lights!" No matter how many bouquets the little ones pick, our school soccer field remains polka-dotted!
ReplyDeleteThat soccer field news makes me happy! Thanks, Mary Lee
Delete