Mason Bee
Mason bees, who belong to the genus Osmia, do not live in colonies but solitarily. Some subspecies have unusual habits, such as lining their nest cavities with flower petals.
Like a religious
you stack your eggs into reeds
and seal each chamber
with a dome of clay.
There is an indian in a hat
who stands in the wind;
whose lips are pressed to
a bamboo flute.
He is calling the hums
inside his heart.
He is calling his bees.
Incantation for a Dead Bee
I will wrap you in a leaf
and cup my hands
over you.
Inside your red dome
you are powerful.
Where the light comes
between my fingers
you are powerful.
Flower-dust on your legs
you are powerful.
I will lay you into
the earth, bee.
Under your small mound
you are powerful.
I am nothing, bee,
next to you.
LOLA HASKINS's new collection is How Small, Confronting Morning (Jacar, 2016). She has won the Iowa Poetry Prize and two Florida Book Awards. Recently, she became the first female Honorary Chancellor of the Florida State Poet's Association.
Latest posts by Lola Haskins (see all)
- Fire Ants - December 7, 2014
- The Great Peacock - August 12, 2014
- Two Poems - January 14, 2013
