Peter Mayer

Dandelion

Peter Mayer


Life was good in my neighborhood
With Mother Nature safely quarantined
A perfect yard was my work of art
A study in uninterrupted green

Till uninvited you came by
Brandishing your yellow smile
Drifted in and wouldn't go away
Had a party on my lawn
Making all the neighbors talk
Then hung around like you were gonna stay

I cursed and swore, prepared for war
Madly engineering your demise
Then headed for the garden store
To buy my ammunition and supplies

To protect the innocent
My first attack was limited
Precision guided missiles hit you hard
But you came back a second time
Laughing with your yellow eyes
So I carpet bombed the whole dang yard

Sometimes you have to stand up
Sometimes you have to fight
When Nature's on your land
It doesn't have the right
So put up your dukes
It's me or you
Dandelion

Then one day in my naiveté
I declared that victory was near
I did not foresee your insurgency
And now you have been tormenting me for years

And I'm inclined to think these days
You'll be growing on my grave
Which I will still be trying to defend
Because this in not a happy tale
I am Ahab, you're the whale
And I remember how that story ends

Sometimes you have to stand up
Sometimes you have to fight
When Nature's on your land
It doesn't have the right
So put up your dukes
It's me or you
Dandelion

So put up your dukes
I'm coming for your roots
It's me or you
Dandelion