He the hairy-footed flower bee
goes around comes around
gingery brown buzzes a hum
over lungworts, dead nettles
bumps from his shallow hollow nest
to find a mate before he dies
wanting a new hum
that will wrap him in pollen
far from humorous bravado
of wings vibrating the air
which is what we want:
a final hymn unembellished
so we won’t look the other way.
John Davis is a polio survivor and the author of Gigs and The Reservist. His work has appeared recently in DMQ Review, Iron Horse Literary Review, and Terrain.org. He lives on an island in the Salish Sea.