chicory | Friendly Fairy Tales

So many names, how can I choose?
Wild bachelor’s buttons,
Cornflowers,
Blue daisies,
Ragged sailors,
Chicory.

Your delicate, blue petals tremble in a breeze,
Tough stems stretch toward the sun,
Blue eyes open for one day only.
You are called hendibeh in the East,
Witloof in Belgium,
Succory to the Romans.

So many names, one humble flower.
Some say you open doors, deep magic.
I try to see through your fae portal.
You open to the sky, following the sun.

Some call you a weed, some add you to salad,
Some roast your taproot to balance coffee.
I’ll call you a wildflower.
I’ll admire you on the wayside,
A flower more ancient than humankind.

Your humble eyes look beyond me,
Your roots are in the distant past.
Perhaps your soft blue eyes
Will smile on my grandchildren,
Long after I’m gone.

Note: This flower is chicory, a common wildflower all over the world, used as an herb, a coffee additive and its many names inspired this poem: blue daisy, blue dandelion, blue sailors, blue weed, bunk, coffeeweed, common chicory, cornflower, hendibeh, horseweed, ragged sailors, succory, wild bachelor’s buttons, wild endive, witloof