Spring

today I glimpsed
the dandelion's ghost
before it disappeared

David said...: Good one John!; April 26, 2011
diana l. said...: Wonderful!; April 28, 2011
Area 17 said...: I hadn't heard of dandelion ghosts before.

Here's a few:
http://ulocal.wmur.com/_Dandelion-Ghost/photo/9492286/63455.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottdeca/3565281976/

http://bananafishmagazine.com/contest_knox.html

Extract:
"At the time, we thought the yellow flowers were trash, but the white ones, which we called dandelion ghosts, were different because they granted wishes.

The ghosts we held close to our faces, cupping our hands around them as we closed our eyes. We blew the soft, cottony petals into the air along with our secret and not-so-secret desires.

Dad would tell us to stop if he saw us doing this, so if we heard him at the backdoor we’d grab handfuls of ghosts and take off running toward a nearby park, the seeds falling at our feet.

The ghosts, it seemed, were never in the same patches as the yellow flowers I so despised, and so my sister and I delighted in collecting them, trying to get as many wishes as we could.

I pulled a lot of weeds that summer, but I also made a lot of wishes. I tear up another check and make a wish."; April 29, 2011

Spring Haiku