Bee Charmers
Paul Wiegel

They know the sharp stick of honey on fingers
and are not afraid of the sweet sting.
It’s worth the sacrifice for
that slow flowing sun--
its gritty, candied drops of earth.
To see it in the comb and
draw it out is to taste
the sweetness of the past
in that timeless sisterhood of
bee charmers.
All those heady beads of honey
cling to the lip of the pot,
fall reluctantly from the dipper
with the regret of parting lovers.
Breathe deep and smell
each spring sprig of clover.

Listen—you’ll hear each airborne zip and dive
between hive and flower.
Each pearl of it on the tongue
is a taste of what we all
have measured as sweetness
​since our first sting.

 
 
 

About the Author:  Paul Wiegel is a Wisconsin native and writes from his home near the Fox River. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The English Journal, Whale Road Review, and Hermeneutic Chaos Journal. He is a past winner of the John Gahagan Poetry Prize. He believes you should read a lot more poems than you write.

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