The cemetery of the bees

Never have I happened to dutifully
bend to succour a bee ailing
from its days, work done,
sacrifice of a whole life,
nor have I happpened to stumble
upon the remains of one dead because of old age,
illness, thus, I ask myself
where the cemetery of the worker bees might be,
so I might visit them.
And in observing the coming and going therein
I might try to understand, to speak to the guard,
at least find out where they come from, and why,
in the end thank them for the gift they bestow
upon us,
then go away in silence, cautiously,
careful not to tread
a blade of grass, a grave, a flower…

© Copyright 2023 Mauro Giovanelli “Seventy-nine writings or thereabouts”, life, love, death and the usual…” – “Settantanove scritti o giù di lì”, vita, amore, morte, i soliti discorsi…” –

Translation Italian-English: Philip Mc Court.