While the scout drones and dances in the dark,
her sisters’ palpi mark
her every sign like Braille.
Who hears her hum her B will rarely fail
to find the food, too far to spot by smell
or sight. She yearns to tell
the others its location,
impatient spy in a covert operation.
What’s in the flower of a common weed
can comfortably feed
the queen and all her hive,
allowing the whole living thing to thrive.
You may conclude when speculating why
a drone must always die
minutes after mating
that, when the matter deals with procreating,
each part is for the good of the collection.
Those giving it protection,
who javelin your skin,
must also perish so the group can win.
Is Earth a hive? Observe it from a plane,
watch moving specks. You strain
your ear, yet cannot hear
the chatter of the people on that sphere,
as you cannot discern the conversations
of insects, whose relations
are always tête-à-tête
to us, whether a date or a debate.
Do bees and letter carriers look the same?
One organism’s aim,
to stop at every box,
the other’s to alight on hollyhocks,
whose nectar’s dried on tongues. When tongues of ice
hang down, it will suffice
to feed the colony,
more durable a creature than the bee
who, three days by her lonesome, will expire.
What does she most desire?
Working for a mind
whose nature’s still a puzzle to mankind.
Reviews
No reviews yet.