taraxacum officinale

 

how to get rid of dandelions:

remove the long taproot 

dig out with claws or rake

pour boiling water 

poison with vinegar and salt

kill with herbicide

 

and still each parachute 

seeds a hundred, a thousand new plants

for millions of years

rayed flower 

straight down from my chin 

through my chest

 

entirely food and medicine

bitter leaves

and candy flowers

 

for bees and children

their mothers

with honey in the walls

words buzzing in their lungs

 

roots so deep

they break up hard soil

 

hold the seed head gently

 

blow