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Column 925

Picking a Dandelion

12.12.2022

It seems clear enough that Quin­cy Troupe wants his poem, Pick­ing a Dan­de­lion”, to achieve the cov­et­ed sta­tus of time­less­ness” while being root­ed in a his­tor­i­cal moment. Here are Joe and Jill, two peo­ple with com­mon­ly avail­able Amer­i­can names, enact­ing an ordi­nary ges­ture of affec­tion. Yet this instruc­tive love is height­ened by the con­text: love, in oth­er words, in a time of hate (bor­row­ing from Gabriel Gar­cia Mar­quez) is the theme and the opti­mism lac­ing this poem.

Picking a Dandelion

walking along together 
in the nation’s capital 
Joe stopped, stooped, picked a flower—
a dandelion to be exact—
then he handed it to Jill—
who smiled in her white summer, 
dress full of pretty flowers, 
and someone snapped a picture 
of this sweet, simple gesture, 
it revealed something deeper, 
profound, beautiful about 
their love for each other here, 
that taught all of us watching, 
how to reach across time, space, 
with a tender touch, a kiss 
for one another here, now 
in this moment of hatred 
before time on earth runs out

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Disclaimer

We do not accept unsolicited submissions

We do not accept unsolicited submissions. American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2022 by Quincy Troupe, “Picking a Dandelion” from Duende Poems, 1996-Now (Seven Stories Press, 2022.) Introduction copyright © 2024 by The Poetry Foundation.