The Sunflower & the Dandelion
A heartfelt poem about my brother & I ❤
In a land of many seasons, far away
Through the purest winter snow
And until the end of spring’s crimson blossoms
A Sunflower and a Dandelion
Grew up together on a mountainside as true & old friends.
They laughed at life & comforted each other
Forever happy in the warmth of familiar company.
And yet they were different from one another
Due to the natural moulds they were born into
The Dandelion was free to float in the air
While the Sunflower stood rooted to the ground
Gently turning her petals to face the sun.
It was hard to catch the Dandelion
He could barely stay in one place long enough
The North Wind summoned the Dandelion to travel the seas
The East Wind brought other friends who wanted his company
The West Wind called him to rejuvenate his health
And the South Wind brought storms that blew him away constantly
Summer and autumn ripened and rose
And yet the Dandelion was lost in the winds.
Now the Sunflower loved her life on the mountainside
Yet it felt like, she always, always kept waiting
Just to see her beloved friend once again
Indeed, she knew the truth
All this flying about was not the Dandelion’s fault
He had a rare gift
He had a calling
It was his dream and his life’s joy to wander
Looking for ways to fulfill and enjoy it
And even though it felt like she waited forever
She quietly thought to herself, ‘Quality, not Quantity.’
And delighted in the things the Dandelion did
On all his big, beautiful adventures in the world.
The kind people he met
The little children he charmed
His flyaway ways of good cheer & compassion
Almost always warmed every heart he found
Indeed — he was a good Dandelion.
Now even though he was much older than her
He had never made her feel very little before him
He steadied the Sunflower when she lost her direction.
And all her victories were celebrated by him
As if they were his very own as well
When she rose up to the sun to give shade to other flowers
He praised her kindness to his friends everywhere
And when she smiled at a passer-by with her petals
He seemed to sparkle with pride alongside her.
It was a union of great balance for these two
Because they always rose to shelter each other without fail
She tried to make sure that the Dandelion did not lose
The pure child hidden within him that she knew
That beautifully goofy, sunlit side of his
She tried to preserve as she had always seen it
Since the moment she had entered the world
She recognised his true self so well
Because she had always tried
To model herself after the good Dandelion.
After knowing all of this
The Sunflower didn’t mind his irregular presence anymore
Because even though she stood rooted to the soil
She could really reach above her stalk to grow very high
She watched him soar above the green meadows
Looking up to see his starlit path in the sky
Like her very own personal North Star
In her heart, it felt like they were always together
Whether he floated near or farther away from her in the world.
