Thursday, July 19, 2012

Pain in the Grass


Take great care when walking on
A grassy dune or beach
Avoid the spiny sandburs
Is the lesson I would teach

Oddly it is classified
As a grass with flattened blade
The well protected prickly seed
Inflicts a pain I would not trade

To any other person
The one-seeded fruit may look benign
But as a kid the stalk of spurs
Was used like a cat-of nine

By bullies armed with barbed bouquets
A devilish construction
Persecuted mercilessly I was by
Weapons of grass destruction

The biological intent although
Is not to cause one dread
The seeds instead attach themselves
And from there the grass can spread

Food it is for larval forms
Of several butterflies
Like satyrs and many skippers
Just before they metamorphasize

The many forms of sandbur species
All members of the genus Cenchrus
Have caused a many manly men
To tiptoe along the seashells

The last thing I’ll say
I’ve saved for last
Please watch your step
For this pain in the grass

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