Golden Lads And Dandelions Poem by gershon hepner

Golden Lads And Dandelions



Though golden lads and girls all must
like chimney sweepers come to dust,
declared, in Cymbeline, the Bard.
this point of view is rather hard
to take when life is going swim-
ingly. Who needs this dreary hymn
so long as we enjoy the sun
in summer, and have lots of fun
in winter? Till we start to rust,
let’s covet causes of our lust.
Death, that makes survivors cheerful,
should be discouraged by an earful
of sonnets that all lovers trust,
ignoring gravely thoughts of dust,
like dandelions till they slough
their petals in a single puff.

Inspired by two lines from Cymbeline that Linda sent me:

Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.

“Chimney-sweepers” was a Warwickshire term given by children to dandelions: the golden-headed flower which becomes grey-haired with age before being blown away by children playing games to count the time. The world of 1611 presents us with a magical picture of death as the blowing of a common flower.

7/31/08

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Patricia Gale 31 July 2008

Wonderful piece...well told

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