Dandelion Pappus

One among many but so unlike all of the rest
Why should this particular flower on this particular hill stand out from the rest
The odds are astronomical, the answer is anyone's guess
The only thing that's of certainty is the pain I've been taught to digest

Planted by fate in soil that rejected me
Ordered fed and nourished by a sun that neglected me
Weather battered, isolated, I was expected to fend for self
While all the others were wanted and picked, I was the only one left

My remaining petals were weather beaten, I looked as of last season
Hikers and picnic baskets trampling me, abusing me without reason
I've accepted that I'm the ugly duckling of both reality and fable
I never beautified this hill and sure want grace anyone's table

I'm no more than a dandelion's pappus caught in a windstorm
Pre-programmed by Nature herself to exist outside of the norm
I've been taught by those that surround me to expect nothing
Even in the midst of so much beauty, I am nothing

The sun's rays they taunt me with their beauty trampling like feet
The howl of the wind silences me, choking me in defeat
Raindrops coming down is the only thing that brings others around
Strangers crowding in, keeping my roots dry, not caring if they drown

how can anyone or anything be hated to this extent and still live
I'm no more than a pistil and a petal with nothing left to give
My roots continue to reach knowing that there is fertile soil all around
But the wooded feel of my stem assures me that none has been found