Dandelions, me and you

I found a dandelion

And I smiled

Haven’t seen one of them

For a while

Growing up between the cracks

No promise, no defense

Jealous of its stillness

Envious of its indifference

I wondered how it learned to grow

With no one watching through

Was it strain inside its will

Or just being coming true

They call it something in the way

Like being small’s a flaw to fix

But I’ve been wrong enough to know

How softly strength exists

You never begged to be seen

Never tried to belong

Still the bees found their way

When the rest had gone

You didn’t bloom to be saved

Didn’t fade to be mourned

You were gold for a moment

Then you were gone

I’ve known people just like you

Quiet in a crowded room

Holding space without a sound

Letting truth arrive in bloom

They don’t sharpen every feeling

They don’t sell what they believe

They just stand where life passes through

And let it be what it will be

The world keeps asking “Who are you?”

Like worth is something you defend

But I’ve learned watching things like you

That nothing honest has to bend

You never begged to be seen

Never tried to belong

Still the bees found their way

When the rest had gone

You didn’t bloom to be saved

Didn’t fade to be mourned

You were gold for a moment

Then you were gone

I spent years trying to be noticed

Without learning how to shout

Wanting to be witnessed

Without selling myself out

I didn’t want to be managed

Didn’t want to be explained

Just hoping someone would see me

Standing quietly in the rain

Then I watched you turn to wind

No fear of being alone

You let the world decide your reach

You didn’t need to hold

And I smiled at the leaving

Like I smiled when you came

’Cause nothing that’s honest

Ever needs to stay

I won’t beg to be seen

I won’t try to belong

If the bees find their way

I’ll know I’ve done no wrong

I won’t bloom to be saved

I won’t fade to be mourned

I’ll be gold for a moment

Then I’ll be gone

I found a dandelion

And I smiled