From the dumpster, a poem emerges

Editor’s note: This poem arrived by mail, beautifully handwritten on paper rescued from a dumpster, along with a two-page letter from the author, excerpted below.

I’m enclosing a poem that literally dropped from the sky. I’m 87 so any story I tell you about it is bound to be long winded. Here goes anyway. A few weeks ago as I was having my morning coffee + playing solitaire (to exercise my digits + joints) a bee dropped from an air vent located above my kitchen table... The bee fell into my coffee cup + was still wiggling. I scooped it out + put it on a paper napkin to dry itself off. I went back to my card game + when I finished playing + looked at the paper napkin, the little bumbler was gone.

Often, after the cards + coffee I jot down what I call my ponderings. I picked up a pen and ‘took dictation.’ ... I’ve already gotten good responses from my friends here at Liberty Green. I’m in the habit of posting comments, ironic news clippings etc. on my apartment door. I don’t have a cell phone or computer, internet or any of those other electronic gadgets to communicate through. When I shared the poem, I got requests for copies. That’s the reason I’m offering it to you.

Bee-oo-ti-full!
Do not fear the bumble bee
It’s making honey for your tea
There really is no need to cower
It’s only looking for a flower
To carry nectar to its hive
To keep the other bees alive;
And in doing so, pollinates
So many of the things we eat
and use, to build, to heal, to heat.

There is a lesson here to learn:
“To share the Blessing
Share the Burden”
And be grateful for that
Humble Bee.

Barbara Mach
Warwick, NY