The Dandelion by James M. David

Commissioned by Eric Hollenbeck and the Colorado State University Percussion Ensemble, this short etude for timpani and four additional percussionists is inspired by the 1913 poem of the same name by Vachel Lindsay. Various ostinati spring forth to represent the pernicious weed only to be quickly chopped down by violent interruptions. But as any homeowner will tell you, the dandelion always wins in the end.

O DANDELION, rich and haughty,
King of village flowers!
Each day is coronation time,
You have no humble hours.
I like to see you bring a troop
To beat the blue-grass spears,
To scorn the lawn-mower that would be
Like fate’s triumphant shears.
Your yellow heads are cut away,
It seems your reign is o’er.
By noon you raise a sea of stars
More golden than before.

– Vachel Lindsay, 1913