A poem by Letitia O'Hagan
loves things small
loves compact industry, efficient gold
packets strapped to
busy thighs
the bee crawling clumsily
from the pumpkin blossom
lurching into the air
haphazard with pollen
each stiff hair
itself bee-gold with grains
to be unpacked then tamped
in dim damp
six-walled cells
themselves tidily bee-sized.
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She knows a man who knows a trick
that soothes the bees he says
you put a bee up to your mouth
and stroke its fur across your upper lip
she wants to try
at once a kiss
a sting
leaving a streak of gold.
Hear Letitia read her poem:
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Letitia O’Hagan is a professional ritualist and amateur poet in Boise, Idaho. A founding member of Boise’s Log Cabin Literary Center, she has been reading and writing poetry for 53 years. She is inspired by the mundane moments in people’s lives that speak to and illustrate joy, sadness, longing, fulfilment, and mystery.
Beautiful - bee-gold, six-walled cells / themselves tidily bee-sized. Golden!
What brilliant bee-descriptions, Letitia: busy thighs / the bee crawling clumsily /from the pumpkin blossom / lurching into the air /haphazard with pollen...
And then stunning, unexpected ending! Brava!