What became of bees
loud buzzing bumbles
and honey bees
plump and golden-striped?
What of the forager bee gathering
others on the dance floor of the hive
with movements carefully choreographed
for the syncopated frenzy and passion
of the waggle-dance that directs them
to the place of bounty to fill their hind
leg-baskets with fertile rich pollen?
In the bustling honeycomb
the bee-bread bakes
with the molto vivace of
Rimsky-Korsakov rising to
a crescendo fervor for their queen
and like dancers the workers
grande jeté from the hive into
the perfumed and rarified air.
For us
the royal jelly, honey, beeswax
and for the salivating bears
Nirvana.
Now so many are gone
the provenance of pollen poisoned by
airborne pesticides over their territories
or developed beyond recognition
of what was wild and bountiful.
If, through fault of our own, meadows are left
barren and the wildflowers bereft, we too will
be.
The oldest bear will remember
her sticky muzzle
her rapturous tongue
even the occasional passionate
sting.
Poem by Carol A. Amato
My poetry appeared recently in Aurorean, Quill’s Edge Press Anthology, Poem, New Hampshire Poetry Society and others. I received a Pushcart nomination (2017). As a natural science educator, I wrote a nature series published by Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. and Wiley & Sons (Backyard Pets: Exploring Nature Close to Home).