"Dandelion" by Maddie Hanson (2015)
Poem and Annotation
Slam poem transcribed.
Dandelion
of the family Asteraceae
the common weed that invades
the green, green grass
and flowering gardens
of the dry summer air.
But it is also called lion’s tooth,
as if something small and intricate that can take root
in the delicate flesh of a larger complex
ripping and disrupting the mesh
of cells set in stone,
like the queen of the jungle disrupting the order of a garden, the groaning
body of an animal.
But this hardened
idea of what belongs,
this hierarchy of flowers is wrong,
for I see dandelions as beautiful.
For a weed is something that grows where you don’t want it to.
And that’s the beauty in it.
For as someone goes to rip it
from the soil of the earth, fearing
that its beauty will tower over the importance of the domineering
flowers in the garden, its florets fly,
through the baby blue sky
its wonder soars,
until the lion’s tooth takes root
and becomes another beautiful round.
See I’m reminded of a moment in history,
the story of the misery
of the fight for women’s suffrage.
Anthony, Stanton, Stone
in few numbers they first stood alone
against the towering flowers that had blown
off their beauty, their place of importance in the garden.
But their florets spread,
flying from the head,
rooting themselves to rip from their coverage
to gain their suffrage,
biting deep into the fabric of society
to tear away the disparity,
Oh, that sharp lion’s tooth!
But that was just in one garden.
One of many years ago.
And in the soil of another, the beauty of the lion’s tooth once again many forego.
So it flies through the sky
and searches for the deference in the garden that it deserves.
Yet again.
And despite the ripping, the rooting, their place
amongst the space
of the flowers
the lion’s tooth still cowers
amongst the company of those that used to tower
completely above.
For some still see the yellow as merely weeds
that threaten their place in the eye of the observer
and undermine their own splendor.
By a dandelion is not just a weed.
For it has the ability to transfigure
The soil of society
into a garden of equality
and wonder,
where a dandelion is that of a flower.
Dandelion
of the family Asteraceae
the common weed that invades
the green, green grass
and flowering gardens
of the dry summer air.
But it is also called lion’s tooth,
as if something small and intricate that can take root
in the delicate flesh of a larger complex
ripping and disrupting the mesh
of cells set in stone,
like the queen of the jungle disrupting the order of a garden, the groaning
body of an animal.
But this hardened
idea of what belongs,
this hierarchy of flowers is wrong,
for I see dandelions as beautiful.
For a weed is something that grows where you don’t want it to.
And that’s the beauty in it.
For as someone goes to rip it
from the soil of the earth, fearing
that its beauty will tower over the importance of the domineering
flowers in the garden, its florets fly,
through the baby blue sky
its wonder soars,
until the lion’s tooth takes root
and becomes another beautiful round.
See I’m reminded of a moment in history,
the story of the misery
of the fight for women’s suffrage.
Anthony, Stanton, Stone
in few numbers they first stood alone
against the towering flowers that had blown
off their beauty, their place of importance in the garden.
But their florets spread,
flying from the head,
rooting themselves to rip from their coverage
to gain their suffrage,
biting deep into the fabric of society
to tear away the disparity,
Oh, that sharp lion’s tooth!
But that was just in one garden.
One of many years ago.
And in the soil of another, the beauty of the lion’s tooth once again many forego.
So it flies through the sky
and searches for the deference in the garden that it deserves.
Yet again.
And despite the ripping, the rooting, their place
amongst the space
of the flowers
the lion’s tooth still cowers
amongst the company of those that used to tower
completely above.
For some still see the yellow as merely weeds
that threaten their place in the eye of the observer
and undermine their own splendor.
By a dandelion is not just a weed.
For it has the ability to transfigure
The soil of society
into a garden of equality
and wonder,
where a dandelion is that of a flower.