Jen Stein
Feeding the Bees
In the afternoon, I head to the meadow
to feed the bees. It’s early October —
wild asters and goldenrod,
the regal fall crocus,
splayed petals like an open hand.
I’ve come to feed the bees thick
sugar and water. In the midst of fall’s
bounty they can still starve, and though
they live in perfect industry and society
with one another, still they need a keeper’s
help to hold on through the long night of winter.
I am setting this golden moment against the darkness,
for soon it will fall to another winter, and sooner
to the relentlessness of days
from which, like a bee captured by rain,
I cannot seem to emerge. I feed the hive
slowly, that the dance is not upset,
but the pleasure I take in the bees’ work
I cannot always take in my own. I long
not for the transit of pollen, despite its glory,
but for the straightened confines of the hive.
Elizabeth Sylvia (she/her) lives with her family in Massachusetts, USA. She is the winner of the 2021 3 Mile Harbor Book Prize and her manuscript None But Witches will be published in 2022. Elizabeth’s work is upcoming or has recently appeared in SWWIM, Thimble Literary Magazine, Mom Egg Review, and Salamander, among others. @e_sylviapoet.
Jen Stein is a feminist writer, artist, advocate, mother, and finder of lost things in Fairfax, Virginia. Her art and writing is informed by her experiences with advocacy and activism surrounding the politics of the body, disability, and mental health. She’s assistant editor at Rogue Agent, and on the web at Instagram.com/jensteinpoetry.