My Dandelion, My Stand-In Poem by Raj Dronamraju

Suppose they created and subsequently tended a garden
And that was where we could compare our manly stems to something as strong and broad as a flower
Or we could have continued to live inside a dead girl's house expecting no visitors to drop by
In either case, I'm no longer gambling on rolling with the randomness of events

Let's make fun of people who are different from us and come from somewhere else
And this will save your life like well-appointed manure on recently planted seeds
This will go a long way and a short way in establishing your paper thin identity
Over on my side of the garden, I became witness to a bloom that refused the wrong kind of stimulation

I took on that dandelion and grew a beard to look serious
Follow from a safe enough distance and don't allow yourself to make a stand
Eventually, you will reach a point of welcome where you are not judged and you do not judge in turn
Finding some security in a garden where you almost immediately blend in

I guess people are a bit paranoid about any comparisons out of what they are normally used to
A bunker mentality once you assume disrespect from another
But not having a past history as a bully means I have no hang ups
I have the ability to walk in the shadow of a sunflower and for you to notice no difference