It’s back again, the
soporific burr of bees
hovering in the fruit trees that
makes me want to sleep.
I watch them burrowing inside
spring blossoms. They ignore me
as they take their fill
of pollen. Lately, my
taste for honey has taken over my mind
and I’m dripping with
their sweet buzz.
Kim M. Russell, 30th April 2026
This Thursday at the dVerse Poets Pub, Grace is our host for Meeting the Bar, with a form first introduced by |De Jackson back in 2016: the Golden Shovel, one that I enjoy writing.
Grace reminds us that “the Golden Shovel is a contemporary poetic form created by Terrance Hayes as a tribute to Gwendolyn Brooks … It invites poets into a creative dialogue with an existing poem – honouring it while creating something entirely new. This form is in the tradition of the cento, or erasure, but with a lot more flexibility.”
All we have to do is take a line (or lines) from poems we admire; use each word in the line(s) as end words in our poems, keeping the words from the original line in order so that, when finished, we can read down the right margin, and have the original chosen line intact. Grace asks us to give credit to the poet who wrote the line(s) and possibly a link to the original poem,. She says that the new poem does not have to be about the same subject matter, but it can be in a similar vein.
I chose these lines from ‘Bee Mornings’ by Julia Webb (who is also a Norfolk poet), from her poetry collection Bird Sisters:
‘The bees that sleep inside me
fill my mind with buzz.’
writing in north norfolk 
Such a lovely spring poem Kim. Love sounds of this line: soporific burr of bees, and that sound of buzzing inside and out. And I love your quoted line of the bees inside of you – makes me think of energy and being a muse.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you kindly, Grace.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Loving this….the bees’ buzzing in the first stanza acting almost as a sleep machine’s background’s white noise.And then in the second stanza, it shifts to a sound she can’t get out of her mind as she goes about her day…an “ear worm” as they call those tunes that won’t go away!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you kindly, Lill!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love it Kim. Nice choice of lines.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Dwight!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is one of my favorite poems from you, Kim! It is especially appropriate with all the “soporific burr of bees” and “spring blossoms” happening right now! I found writing this kind of poem very difficult and your poem flows so well with the given lines. Stellar job!!! 🩵
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you so much, Cara!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A wonderful seasonal poem. The bees have arrived here buzzing about on the dandelions. A sweet buzz indeed.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you very much, Truedessa.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well done. I can picture the bloom of fruit trees and buzzing bees. 😊
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Stew!
LikeLiked by 1 person
🎶A taste of honey
tasting much sweeter
than wine 🎶
Beautiful poem, Kim.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much, Jay!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is such a cool poem, at once buzzing with activity even as it lulls. I like the repetition of /b/s (back, burrs, bees; burrow, blossoms) with buzz as the final word. Sweet!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much!
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a great line to play with and the results were bee- utiful. Especially love the phrase “soporific burr of bees”, though I don’t know if I could sleep near them.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you so much, Mish.
LikeLike
You illustrate one of the great possibilities of the Golden Shovel, Kim, as you wonderfully expand on the meaning of the original quote…
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you so much, Andrew.
LikeLike
An absolutely delightful springtime poem. Love it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Jennifer!
LikeLike
Nice one
i get bee vists to my yellow ixoras, i have the reds and oranges but never saw bees at them
much love
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Gillena, and much love to you!
LikeLike