Slice of Life The Bumblebee

Writing Inspiration

Today is the last day of NaPoWriMo and National Poetry Month.  NaPoWriMo  is National Poetry Writing Month- to write a poem a day for the month of April, which I’ve been doing here on this blog. National Poetry Month is sponsored by Poets.org and is the inspiration for all the poetry sharing in April.

Yesterday, I kept a poem in my pocket for Poem in My Pocket Day. That happens on one day during April and you can check on that information here: Poem In Your Pocket Day. Which poem would you keep in your pocket?

As I started to review my Google Photos for a poem today, I noticed a Google created album, “Insects,” and inside was this delightful photo I’d taken of a bumblebee on the lavender in my yard. Bumblebees are so important to wildflowers and greenhouse gardeners. They are social colony builders of underground homes, and their busy work gathering nectar helps pollinate each flower on which it feeds. Unlike other bees, bumblebees live in colder climates so you see them higher up in the mountains, on cloudy days, and further north in the world. For information about Western Bumblebees, take a look at this US Forest Service booklet: Bumblebees.

And so, a poem for these amazing insects.

Writing Process

In looking through the booklet, I think my bumblebee is a Bombus huntii. It’s coloring— the orange band, the black band at the end and in the middle and the yellow face indicate so. It’s also a bee that lives in our area, according to their maps. I included that in my poem. I also learned about where they live— in cooler climates, which surprised me, so that became part of my poem.

I found places for rhyme and kept the cadence, the rhythm of the syllables pretty well. It’s a science poem built on bumblebee facts.

Poetry

Bumblebee

In cloudy, cooler times
From the underground
A furry Bombus huntii
Feeds on lavender he’s found
Steady worker climbing
Through the stamens, pollen filled,
Drawing in the nectar sweet—
He’s a colony to build.

Sheri Edwards
043022 121.365.22
Poetry/Photography

Your Turn

Two things today:

First— a science poem. Find something you wonder about— perhaps rain, climate change, electric cars, meteors, cycles [water, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen], earth’s layers, atmosphere— look anywhere and there’s science for how nature works. Read about it. Pull out the main ideas and what surprises you. List. Organize. Start a poem to share the beauty in the science. Rhyme or not— but try for sounds and cadence. What will you choose?

Second— Perhaps just read through your writings this month and choose one you especially like. If you want, revise it for your precise meaning or for sound, cadence, or rhyme. Then add it to a picture or drawing or a simple background. Save it to your device or print it out and frame it. Celebrate this last day of NaPoWriMo and National Poetry Month with your own personal favorite.

See you next year!

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on “Slice of Life The Bumblebee
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