 |
| 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.