Tick Tock

a tanka string

a little girl
with dandelion clock
blows away
strong parachutes
that need enormous puffs

her smile
hovers in delight
tick tock
will there will always be
more seeds to blow away?

one moment —
let her stay awhile
considering
the flower and what it means
to hold an empty stem

so silently
time slips away —
this world she knows
won’t be the same
when all our seeds are blown

• Glen Waverley, VIC