busyThis poem was inspired by a prompt from 
red_trillium. It is presented as today's second freebie poem, courtesy of new prompter bodlon and new donor Christian Young.
Now, the bumblebee in this poem is a New Yorker, with a vocabulary and attitude to match, so I'm putting this below a cut. People unfond of coarse language may prefer to read something else. I sympathize with the poor bee's predicament -- but I consider the poetry student the winner of this altercation. Also, the quoted lines are by Emily Dickenson.
The Prairie in Central Park
A student sat on the grass,
reading poetry in Central Park.
"To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,"
she intoned solemnly,
looking around for the ingredients.
A bumblebee blundered from one white flower to the next,
its tiny wings propelling it into impossible flight.
"One clover, and a bee,
And revery."
The student gazed at the bee.
"Hey, you -- we're making a prairie!"
The bumblebee turned to her and said,
"Lady, we're in New York fucking City!
Do you see any prairie around here? No! This is a LAWN.
All I have to eat is clover and frankly it tastes like exhaust fumes.
So get the fuck off my dinner table,
before I shove that book up your ass!"
The student took her book and moved
to a section of lawn devoid of angry bumblebees.
Then she finished softly,
"The revery alone will do,
If bees are few."
January 5 2011, 23:50:33 UTC 10 years ago
Yeah, it's a lawn. Hopefully the student will research prairies and learn about biological diversity.
Well...
January 6 2011, 00:26:31 UTC 10 years ago
What we call "lawn" here at Fieldhaven is really "whatever low-growing green stuff survives mowing and foot traffic." There are many species of grass, white and yellow and red clovers, dandelions, plantains, several kinds of wild violet, etc. The result is far more useful than plain grass.
The prairie garden is more robust. It has taller grasses, milkweed, thistle, goldenrod, a few flowers such as echinacea and black-eyed susan, lots of wild strawberries, etc. While nowhere near an old-growth prairie, it is still a functional prairie in that it provides tall grass cover for wildlife, abundant seeds, and attracts all the prairie-loving species that still live in our area. *chuckle* Including a great many bumblebees and honeybees, who are content to share it with me.
Re: Well...
January 6 2011, 00:45:24 UTC 10 years ago
Oh, my parents have a similar lawn. My dad is not allowed to mow out front until the wildflowers are done blooming and she has harvested the violets for jelly.
Re: Well...
January 6 2011, 06:57:08 UTC 10 years ago