A Poem for May: When I’m Away from You, I Feel Like the Second-Place Winner in a Bee-Wearing Contest
who practiced all year, only
to lose to a guy whose
every inch was covered
in hum. And I am in awe
to learn one cheeky bee
clambered into the winner’s
sugared ear, another
slid into his nostril, and still—
he didn’t flip. Just calmly
waited for the bell to ring
a victory. But even
fifty-seven pounds of bees
can’t stop the music I hear
when I return to you, the music
I hear when you walk near me.
Like I’m always carried in enough
good sting and thrum to remember
our life. I’ll always return home
to you—my honeycomb, my sweet—
my one faithful and true buzz.
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