In the silver silence of morning’s first rays,
she is woken from the vastness of the double bed
by a bee munching her way
out of a nest
secreted in an air vent.
After a long winter spent
in a cocoon,
waiting for warmer weather
to eat herself free
from nesting cavities
plugged with grains of soil and nectar
to help them stick together,
she rests a while on the sill,
a glowing red flame,
and then flies,
humming,
out of the open window
solo.
Kim M. Russell, 2017
Image found on Pinterest
My poem for dVerse Poets Pub Poetics: Poems that could save your life and linked to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Tuesday Platform
Today I am hosting Tuesday Poetics. It is based on an anthology that sits on my bookshelf, entitled 101 Poems That Could Save Your Life: An Anthology of Emotional First Aid. It’s a great little book that has been very useful on a number of occasions when I’ve been looking for the right words.
The foreword on the inside cover will give you a good idea of what’s in it:
‘Prozac has side effects, drink gives you hangovers, therapy’s too expensive; for a quick and effective relief for all your emotional ailments try a poem – for however bad it is some poet will have been there too.
This is the first poetry anthology designed for the self-help generation. Look up your problem in the emotional index, which has entries ranging from ‘Bad Hair Day’ to ‘Is This Relationship Going Anywhere?’, ‘First Wrinkle’ to ‘Bereavement, ‘Career Crisis’ to ‘Redundancy’ and a whole section of ‘Instant Moral Fibre’. The prescribed poems include classics by Emily Dickinson and Lord Byron and previously unpublished works by contemporary poets like Wendy Cope. The book has a cure or at least a consolation for every modern misery, and no side effects.’
In the prompt I have shared two of my favourite poems from the anthology and challenged poets to write a poem to save someone’s life on one of a selection of themes, mostly taken from the book. For my poem I have chosen the theme ‘successfully single’.
Bees as role models—why not? I like this bee 🙂
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🙂
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…and may she have an amazing solo flight! A fun poem to open the challenge, Kim.
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Thank Bev!
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I can really see that working… and I can actually appreciate that first moment when someone goes from loneliness to solitude… a good moment to take flight.
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Humming as she flies 🙂
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Poems infuse life
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I have just now realised that I never think of bees emerging from the pupae – and you have captured the moment with a naturalist’s eye for detail. Wonderful image of Spring.
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Thank you, Kerry. I’m very concerned about the declining bee population as they are so important for pollination. I enjoy watching them in our garden because everything is untamed, so they have a variety of pollen.
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What an excellent poem! I love these sections:
“plugged with grains of soil and nectar
to help them stick together,
she rests a while on the sill,
a glowing red flame,
and then flies,
humming”
“In the silver silence of morning’s first rays,
she is woken from the vastness of the double bed
by a bee munching her way”
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Thank you! I’ve been watching bees quite a lot lately – they love our wild garden, especially the honeysuckle, and I’ve been concerned at all the stories about the declining bee population. I was knocked out to see that in London people are keeping bees on the roofs of high-rise buildings!
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Oh, that’s awesome! 🙂 I would love to keep bees. The father of a gal pal from elementary school used to have bees. There is nothing yummier than drinking honey straight out of the comb, then gnawing on it a little bit. What I wouldn’t give to have a jar of that stuff right now.
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I loved the perspective here – I also loved the prompt – thanks!
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Thank you for taking part!
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That seems to fit the theme. I didn’t know how bees behaved and you described that well. Nice prompt!
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Thanks Frank!
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What a wonderful extended metaphor, Kim. I love poems like this where the layers pile up on themselves. Well done!
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Thank you, Sarah!
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Wow..unlike the short life of a butterfly, a bee can get a lot done before it checks out; lovely metaphor–hum while you fly, lopsided at first, as wings are not fully dry or coordinated. Our new neighbor keeps bees, and it is fun to watch them at a safe distance,
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Lucky!!! Do they bring you fresh honey?
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I’ve been watching them too – they love the honeysuckle on the trellis right outside the window next to my laptop, so I have a clear view!
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Oh, that bee munching.
SO good, Kim.
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Thank you, De!
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I love this! Especially the fiery determination as she flies solo at the end 🙂
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Thanks Sanaa!
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I keep trying to eat myself free but so far no luck. Maybe tonight is my night!
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🙂
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cool description…
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Thanks Debi!
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Lovely!
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I agree with Bjorn’s comment.. from loneliness to solitude is a good journey!
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Ah, cheers to the brave hearts! 😀
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🙂
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I revel in her freedom.
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🙂
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aw…a beautiful morning vision of Mother Nature humming, showing a new destination: solitude.
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🙂
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This sure is amazing
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Thank you!
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I read and reread this poem several times because it’s rhythm felt good to me. I like how it sounds as if it’s going to be about a woman and her missing lover (vast double bed implying empty) but ends up about one of my favourite creatures. Really enjoyed the ending, especially the pause on the window sill before it leaves. One of my favourites of yours Kim! 😊
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Thank you so much, Diana! 🙂
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Such vivid imagery in this lovely poem!
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Thank you, Jilly!
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So very beautiful, Kim. And I would find this comforting in the loss of a loved one. Beautifully gentle in the lesson and encouragement it is offering.
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Thank you, Lillian.
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Mind you, bees do live in hives, so have a lot of support and community… Aside from that, I do love the gentle, careful observation and tenderness.
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Thank you!
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A beautiful analogy, Kim. You had me at the first line!
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Perfect, Kim! A stunning poem to open a wonderful prompt. What could bee better? 😉 sorry
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Thank you for your kind comments, Ryan, and for joining us. Please don’t apologise for puns – they are always welcome!
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A beautiful and comforting poem Kim, I love the spirit of bees and the way your bee hums when she flies solo :o) xxx
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Thank you, Xenia! I hope your week is going well,. I am just about to start marking GCSE exams so I won’t write much over the next few weeks, which will be weird. I will, however, host the final Quadrille on 19th June. As soon as the summer break starts, the marking will be over and will be at a loss, with no dVerse for two week. 😦
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Thank you Kim, it has been a very busy week so far and I am looking forward to some writing time over the weekend. Good luck with your exam marking and I am sure your muse will be waiting when you are free to write again! ;o) xxx
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Love the munching bee image!
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Beautifully captured…how gracefully you presented the the idea of being single and in command!
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Thank you, Sreeja! It’s been a long time since I had to do that – I’ve been happily married for almost 25 years now. But I do remember the feeling of being in command.
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Beautiful poem with really interesting line breaks. Thanks for sharing 🙂
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Thank you for reading and commenting 😊
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