Sunday, September 18, 2022

THE BEES RESPOND TO BEING TOLD THE QUEEN IS DEAD

by Pepper Trail


John Chapple, the beekeeper at Buckingham Palace, reportedly informed Queen Elizabeth II’s bees of her death. Credit Dan Kitwood/Getty Images via The New York Times, September 15, 2022


The rituals must be respected

But we do not pause the work

Choice is not a word we know

 

These corridors are splendid

Glowing, aromatic, and endless

Leading to the golden treasuries

 

It is our life to keep them filled

We will do what we were born to do

But it will no longer be sweet, for a King



Pepper Trail is a poet and naturalist based in Ashland, Oregon. His poetry has appeared in Rattle, Atlanta Review, Spillway, Kyoto Journal, Cascadia Review, and other publications, and has been nominated for Pushcart and Best of the Net awards. His collection Cascade-Siskiyou was a finalist for the 2016 Oregon Book Award in Poetry.