Beekeeper [Limerick]

Photograph of bees taken in the Mekong Delta region south of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City.)
There was an equanimous beekeeper --
so calm he looked like an upright sleeper.
Slow & quiet on task
'til one got in his mask,
and blinded him with stings to each peeper.

Prickly Pear [Haiku]

prickly pears bloom: 
yellow offering bowls —
bees give & take.

Claustrophobic [Haiku]

carpenter bee
crawls into clock vine bloom;
freefalls into flight.

Bee Mind [Haiku]

among Spring flowers,
bees swarm one yellow plant
that doesn't look special.

“Come slowly — Eden!” (205) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]

Come slowly -- Eden!
Lips unused to Thee --
Bashful -- sip thy Jessamines --
As the fainting Bee --

Reaching late his flower,
Round her chamber hums --
Counts his nectars --
Enters -- and is lost in Balms.

Poppy [Haiku]

cliffside poppy:
bee shakily alights
in a mountain breeze.

Flower Garden [Haiku]

color clash
in the flower garden
attracts bees & me.

Bee [Lyric Poem]

I see the humble bumble bee, 
Or should I say I see its rump.
It snugged in, made itself cozy --
To get away it's far too plump.

Thistle [Haiku]

heavy-headed thistles
sway in the cow pasture,
bees read their motion.

“Fame is a Bee” (1788) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]

Fame is a bee.
It has a song --
It has a sting --
Ah, too, it has a wing.