Bees gather nectar, frantic to finish tonight,
Before the ending day’s golden twilight
Has turned into black, stormy night.
The first spring blooms are key
For life of tree
And bee.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: My poem has six lines, with the rhyming pattern, AAABBB, and 12 syllables in the first line, and then decreasing by two syllables per line, until the last line, which has 2 syllables (or: 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2). I wanted to use a diminishing syllable count to parallel the dwindling of bees from colony collapse disorder. This poem is similar to a nonet, but the nonet has nine lines, with 9 syllables on the first line, and then it decreases by one syllable per line until the last line, which has one syllable.
15 thoughts on “Sunset and the Bee”
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Friendly Fairy Tales 
Days are dwindling for the bees… alas.. and we so need them
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Yes, someday we may all be out there with sponges trying to pollinate like they do in China.
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Love the shape of the poem; fits so well with the image and the theme.
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Thanks! The photo had a bee, but it wasn’t visible, but I knew it was there. 🙂
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Oh what a pity we couldn’t see it too.
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Yes, it was up over my head, and the camera’s angle just wasn’t quite right. 🙂
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Bees are difficult to photograph; or I find them so.
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Lovely, Lovely, Lovelyyyy!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
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Thanks!! 🙂
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Ah, a busy bee! Sounds a lot like me trying to get round the shops near the end of the day before they close! 😉
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That’s a crowded venture — shops at the end of the day. 🙂
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Lovely! I love the symbolism explained in the prose below too. Lastly, thank you for teaching me something new. I had not come across a Nonet before. I am exploring new forms and you are contributing to my discovery. Visual Haiku, Haibun…much appreciated. Peace. ~ Michael
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Glad to help. I published a Clarity Pyramid, too, which is very rule-intensive if you like that. It’s the first I’ve tried. 🙂 Cheers, Brenda
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A great poem, I enjoyed the explanation. For someone like me who loves reading poetry but is often too stumped or lazy to go and work on one herself, it is nice to hear how you work out the lines, syllables etc.
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It requires real effort to follow the rules, but it’s like mental stretching. Sometime I find myself just embracing shape, rhythm or rhyme just for the sheer joy of finishing and feeling satisfaction of succeeding. I’m glad you like to read poetry. I do, too. 🙂
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