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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 November 2020
Waggling at rare hours of sunrise
Whirring at first sight of twilight
Glowing at whiff of unseen light
And yet no hive in sight
What bright briar
must have brought you to my littered lair?
I know not what love, I see no flower
No showers even at the usual hour
Only dead leaves dumped on this foyer
by thirsty stems. Bumblebee
drifting free
You left lush shrubs
for a dead courtyard littered with stubs.
I may have smelled green or nipped a forbidden flower
Away to the sanctuary for an early prayer
If I go
will you follow?
But oh, incessant bee flying free
pursued in speed to circle me
gliding closer, a hushed hover
You perch on my shoulder
I smile hands cupped
for a friendly hug or frustrated swipes
yet you spy
in multiple lenses of colourful eyes.
Golden insect, what do you inspect
if there is no honey to expect?
She sniffs my perfumed neck
a Calvin Klein has done the trick
But no, not my armpit
A daring wriggle closer, sniffing and oh, a spit
followed by a sting. You slap me!
Foul odour masked by choicest fragrance
Human delusion to elegance
No insect is fooled by this ruse
How will I be of use
in this subterfuge
to an honeybee?
What decay has she felt or see
in me?
So I rushed to pluck the finest flower
to deck my foyer
with fresh spray
Perhaps she will stay
and not stray.
She flew back secretly
surveyed and sniffed quietly
the old kitchen lingered in smoke
Beware, lest you choke.
Yet, no dismay
as she flew away.
A rotten food
must have fouled her mood
I am no lover, nor do I flower
in this dirty foyer.
A lone harbinger bee surveying courtyards
What message have you brought?
On whose land have I trespassed?
What shrub did I burn down?
What trees did I cut and which birds did I displace?
On whose house did I build mine?
I will clean this old land, plant fresh flowers
and leave room for new lovers.
How do we bring life to a dead cold farm,
light up old homes to let love blossom?
I’m still searching for answers
to lure back the pet bee
who wanted to hive with me.
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