Natural Timepiece

Sharp-toothed leaves has the dandelion,
a velvety yellow head;
be wary of it in salad,
you might end up wetting the bed.

Image by Nick Nice on Unsplash

Its petals open at seven,
they close around four o’clock;
if you blow on its seeds,
you might even hear its tick-tock.

Image by Fouad Roshan on Unsplash

Kim M. Russell, 18th March 2024

It’s Monday and, at the dVerse Poets Pub, De is looking sharp with the Quadrille, a creation of our own making, a poem of precisely 44 words that includes a word provided by our host.

De has invited us to get out our pencils and get right to the point with only sharp poems. She says, “Today’s word is (obviously) sharp, and can be used and abused as a noun, verb, adverb or adjective. Strum your poem to the tune of D sharp or sharpen the edges a little and give us some cutting phrase.” She has also given us inspiration in an excerpt from ‘Hyperion’, by John Keats, and Oscar Wilde’s poem, ‘Humanitad’.

59 thoughts on “Natural Timepiece”

    1. Thank you, Cris. Dandelion leaves, roots, and flowers have health benefits and contain lots of vitamins, but they also have diuretic properties, especially if you eat too many leaves.

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  9. It’s dandelion and daisy time here. Lawns are a sea of yellow and white. I suppose next weekend will be dedicated to exterminating them.

    Piss-the-bed. I’ve never eaten enough of them for the leaves to have that effect, but I’m willing to believe it.

    Love your opening line, too 🙂

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  20. Well that was something I didn’t know about dandelions. Interesting. We’ve decided to embrace them here. I love their sunny colour! Love your little ode to them too.

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