Index:
Lit. & Poetry

BEES IN WINTER

 

 Buried are the old drones
On the cold, hungry night of autumn
With the desire forever vanished
Of the lovely spring bride
In the sun in the high strata of the blue sky,
The winter residence awaits
The sleepy cluster of matryoshkas*,
Amongst the silent, small sugar hexagons,
The only heating for the honeycomb house,
Without the fur coating of the ermine
Or precious, perfumed cloth drapery
And not even exotic, outstretched rugs
Or oil-burning radiators and heaters.    
 
The snow can shroud the palace
Of the bees with a mantle of mystery
That only a fable seems to possess,
Amongst sphinxes and balsamic froth
On stormy nights, in the darkness of
Seasoned wood, winter beehive,
Prosthesis of the heat of the bees,
Protective expansion and shelter. 
 
Bulbs, roots and tubers nurture
The hermit in prayer to
The infinite, unknown destiny,
Near the restorative fires of
Solitude, that even the bees have

 

In the transforming energy of the
Comforting honey full of grace,
When the solitary winter path
Indicates the road with its baton
Of winds and tempests.
 
The circle of bees prudently moves
In the cluster, in and out,
To touch in turn the queen
Hungry at the center of the colony,
That narrates many stories to them and can
Inspire many adventures
That all little ones love and that
Can keep that secret of the stars
On the role of the night, when
Sleeping dreams the dawn of a new day.  
 
Shepherd’s purse** under the vines
Does not know how to offer its fresh pollen
For the first hatchlings of the year.
______________________________________________________

* A matryoshka doll or Russian nested doll (also called stacking dolls or Babushka dolls) is a set of dolls of decreasing sizes placed one inside another. "Matryoshka" is a diminutive from the Russian female first name "Matryona", which is traditionally associated with a corpulent, robust, rustic Russian woman.

 ** Shepherd's Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) is a rather small plant originally from Europe, but has become very common in many parts of the world. Its name derives from Latin and means "purse of the shepherd". This name refers to the capsule in the shape of a shepherd’s purse.  The seeds of this plant give off a viscous compound when moistened. Aquatic insects stick to it and eventually die. This can be used as a mosquito control method, killing off the mosquito larvae and makes it a borderline carnivorous plant. The seeds, leaves, and root of this plant are edible. In China, it is commercially grown for consumption. "Stir-fried Shepherd's Purse leaves" is considered a local delicacy. Medicinally, it has been used to stop bleeding.

Translation courtesy of Dan Aspromonte