Hi, Fancy Dancers and Plate Spinners!
What strange echoes have you seen between people and insects?
red, yellow, and white
tulips welcome bumble bees
to nectar buffet
Angels Get Smoke Breaks
From the living room window, I watched the men
huddle against the frigid January Colorado pre-dawn,
their sharp faces oddly illuminated
by the spark of a lighter and
the glowing tips of their cigarettes. They arrived
by ones and twos in rundown cars and Japanese
pickup trucks. Dressed in patched pants and too-thin
jackets, like angels sent from skid row.
Inside our house, they moved like the Bolshoi
in a practiced precision whose equal I’ve never witnessed.
All of the men had smiles for me and my sister. Our big eyes
must have given away our secret insecurities because,
to a man, they all promised to make sure our toys
got to our new house safely. I didn’t realize until just now
that probably not one of them had any idea
where we were moving to. They cared enough
to tell us the right kind of lie. That’s more than most.
The big truck left with all of our toys, and then
all of the men went out in ones and twos, retreating
to their rundown cars and Japanese pickup trucks
heading off to another job.
Angels get smoke breaks but no rest.
Artist Note
I wanted a short essay or poem to match the energy of the haiku comic about bees taking care of their business. I kept coming up blank. After flailing about for a bit, I looked at my poetry boneyard and found a draft of the poem you see here. Like most things in the boneyard, I had forgotten about it. But, after reading it, I sensed that with some work, it would have the energy I wanted.
I love watching the meaningful chaos of bees. Bees never collide in mid-air, they don’t get lost. Each bee seems to know what it is supposed to be about. Small groups of humans can move like bees. The movers that came to move our stuff from Colorado Springs to Aloha, Oregon seemed to have a hive mind—although at five, I didn’t have that understanding.
How about you? What patterns do you see in insects or bugs reflected in humans?
Publishing Note
I’m working on implementing a more refined publishing strategy for my work outside of this newsletter. Once Becky is given a clean bill of health, which looks like it will be next week, I will be able to fully execute the new strategy and let you in on the secret. But, until then, I will have to be vague. My apologies—I think it will all be worth it Thanks for your patience!
Be the weird you want to see in the world!
Cheers,
Jason
Those bones came together well!
Wow. That’s an evocative piece! And bees, let me tell you. On the base of the Sunrise trail this morning, the swarm of bees was buzzing so loudly it felt as if the ground was vibrating. As I climbed higher toward the peak, the sound and bees diminished. Which made me wonder if they have altitude challenges at certain elevation levels?