Creeping buttercup is an invasive species,
not so much as we are,
but in the universe where a yard, a lawn,
must be grass blades only,
and also when it chokes
your flowers, herbs, or vegetables.
It is unfazed by mower blades.
Golden ragwort may be
discouraged by a mower,
for several days,
and prefers to make its stand
just out of reach.
Finally, the queen of lawn ornamentals
can only be controlled by broadleaf defoliants.
When we have absorbed enough toxicity from herbicides
to end our term here,
the ultimate yellow yard wort
— dandelion —
will roar back, thriving on our ashes.
In evidence, its survival guarantee.
At the edges, over the lawn line
the compositions of bloom and native grasses
are free to make and keep what friends they can.
We leave them be
beyond the perimeter of encroachment.
Our rapprochement.