All Nashville is a-chill! And everywhere, As wind-swept sands upon the deserts blow, There is, each moment, sifted through the air A powered blast of January snow. (5) O thoughtless dandelion! to be misled By a few warm days to leave thy natural bed Was folly growth and blooming over soon. And yet, thou blasted, yellow-coated gem! Full many hearts have but a common boon (10) With thee, now freezing on thy slender stem. When once the heart-blooms by love's fervid breath Is left, and chilling snow is sifted in, It still may beat, but there is blast and death To all that blooming life that might have been. (1916) The function of the dandelion in the poem is to: act as a symbol for humankind's relationship to nature indicate the possibility of new and fresh beginnings provide an opportunity to reflect on the feelings of lost love suggest a juxtaposition to the typical human experience symbolize the narrator's enduring admiration for nature

The dandelion mentioned in the poem is a symbol of lost love. According to the speaker, this dandelion was fooled by the weather and ended up blooming too soon. In the end, it was blasted by harsh winds and froze "on [its] slender stem." The flower represents what happens to us when we hastily fall in love only to lose it. "[T]here is death and blast," even if we can love again. The heart may still beat, but nothing will change the pain of having been broken:

When once the heart-blooms by love's fervid breath Is left, and chilling snow is sifted in, It still may beat, but there is blast and death