Oh, selfish yellow springtime child
That augments so prolifically,
You spread your seeds in arrogance
And dare the earth to disagree.

You raise your tendriled yellow head
And wantonly vociferate:
I’ll conquer all without regard,
The land is mine to propagate!

You paint the fields so lavishly
They shimmer with your color gold.
You nod and smile within the wind
And think you noble to behold.

But there are those who have no care
For all the swagger you assume,
You’re much more tender to digest
Before you burgeon into bloom.

So vain, conceited dandelion
Beware the culinarians.
They’ll roughly pull you from the ground
To feed the vegetarians.

(Note:  “Ode to the Dandelion” won the 2009 Best Poem of Indiana Poets in the Senior Poet Laureate Award Contest.)