Dandelion in Spring | Kathleen Bauer

Golden Hour from a Country Road

by: Kathleen Bauer

Southward into the indescribable
foglike something that gathers beneath the trees,
I crest a hill to reveal the sun, orange and distinct,
above empty farmland in the distance.

This is the moment I know what I took the turn too soon for:

The fields in their American two-lane-drive version of someplace distant,
glinting in the impressionist style, with the way the golden wildflowers
grow at the exact shade to enhance the warm glow,
as if they were made for this one minute.

This gold, it is rich. It reflects. Foot paused on the gas

I return to the familiar question: why would one be so unkind
as to divide weeds from flowers, to designate the ones that grow on their own
as something to be cut away, trespassers
to their own field?

Why not plant dandelions in the windowsills?

Kathleen Bauer is a sophomore double majoring in Creative Writing and Advertising & Public Relations. Originally from Lexington, Kentucky, she now writes and attends college at Susquehanna University. The natural environment is one of her biggest inspirations, and she seeks to reflect that in both her poetry and photography.