Dandy Lions

By Rhiannonw

Thu, 03 May 2018
  • 2886 reads
10 comments
 

Dandy lions in a crowd,
golden laughter lines the road;
yellow pom-poms dot the lawn,
temporarily adorn
’til the mower cuts the crop –
garden play-field needs a chop:
‘See this garden, Mummy, can’t
we these lovely flowers plant?'

 

Certificate U
Poem
Nature
Humour
Nature

Comments

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

Never heard them called dandy lions before, but it makes perfect sense! I really enjoyed this charming little piece - thank you!

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thanks, Insert. I've never heard them called dandy lions either, but it seemed a bit of fun, having been cheered by the 'crowd lining the roadside' yesterday morning, and remembering a comment by my young son on noticing a front garden dotted with bright dandelions years ago! Rhiannon

PS I gather the name really comes from the French for 'tooth' because of the jagged leaves!

 

Submitted by Starfish Girl on

I tug them up when they appear in my garden but love to see them at road sides.

I think the French is dent de lion.

Love your poem

Lindy

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thanks, LIndy. Yes, the strong tap root, and the spreading leaves do mess up even a scruffy weedy mossy lawn like ours, but I do remember one of my children when he was about 5 asking why we couldn't have flowers like that in our garden when he saw a lovely dandelion-y lawn! Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Hi Rhiannon, it's a shame our perception of dandy lions is so negative but human effort doesn't seem to threaten them in the slightest. There seems to be masses of them out at the moment. I use a long screw driver and try and get around the root but often it's growing sideways. Lovely little poem. 

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thanks, Jane. Glad you liked it! Arose out of enjoyment seeing them on the roadside. I may try the screwdriver technique sometime! Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Dandy lion makes much more sense. They seem a symbol of nature's resilience, coming up bold and bright and bee-friendly beautiful no matter what. They do seem to be laughing, there is something cheeky about them. Thankyou for such a happy poem

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thanks,Di. They are rather like cheerul ragamuffins aren't they?! (but not scruffily dressed!) Rhiannon

 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

I love your poem Rhiannon. These pretty flowers are so underrated. I used to eat the leaves in salad and use the flowers to make a dye. The only time I don't like them is when they go to seed and fly everywhere, it causes me to sneeze a lot, though I have to say I used to love blowing them and saying: "He loves me, he loves me not." I think all children love to blow the seeds, as I've seen many children doing this while out walking.

I enjoyed reading anyway.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thanks, Jenny. Yes, I like them very much (though they can be a nuisance in our scruffy garden, and the neighbours probably don't want too many seeds blowing over!) Those delicate seeds are lovely to watch, - such a detailed creation. My mother used to have a whole head of seeds preserved in plastic I think, as a paperweight. Rhiannon