If Bees Are Few

We are bees then; our honey is language. ~ Robert Bly

Maybe humans are not exactly bees, but we do depend on them. During a recent visit to the library I was pleased to find If Bees Are Few left on a table, and I sat down to read it. It's an anthology of bee poetry edited by James Lenfestey. It was published to call attention to the many threats that bees are up against, such as colony collapse disorder, the varroa mite, insecticides, and a reduction in food sources. 

The title comes from an Emily Dickinson poem To Make A Prairie:

To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover and a bee.
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few.

Pablo Neruda's evocative Ode to Bees is included:

Multitude of bees!
in and out of the
crimson, the blue,
the yellow,
of the softest
softness in the world;
you tumble
headlong
into a corolla
to conduct your business,
and emerge
wearing a golden suit
and quantities of
yellow boots.

Some of the entries are more poetic than others, like this short and to-the-point entry from Sherman Alexie:

The bees are gone. 
We need new bees 
Or we are fucked.

If you happen to come across this lovely volume of accessible poetry, it may well "bee" worth your while. (Sorry, I just couldn't resist.)