Last weekend, my friend and critique group partner, Margaret Simon, asked on Twitter: “Who’s interested in writing #poemsofpresence? … We can create a calm May 2021 to end the weirdest school year ever.”
It definitely has been the weirdest school year ever. And calm is always welcome. So I have been reminding myself to be present this week to what Kathryn Aalto calls “nature’s palliative powers.” (Writing Wild, p. 237) Here are two poems of presence, inspired by the busy-ness of the apple tree in my front yard.
Fib for the Bees
quick
bees
darting
from blossom
to blossom, sipping
nectar, pollen dusting bellies
making honey for bees, apples for you and me.
Draft © 2021, Catherine Flynn
Rest Stop
Warblers on the wing
heading north to nest
pause to refuel
in the welcoming arms
of an old apple tree.
Draft © 2021, Catherine Flynn
Please be sure to visit Bridget Magee at Wee Words for Wee Ones for the Poetry Friday Roundup.
Reading to the Core 
Oh, I love that rest stop poem so much! Even though it’s about warblers on the wing…I can’t help but think of my family traveling. That old apple tree…I’ll bet she’s a grandma.
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Thanks for the shout out. I forgot to even post an invitation on my own post. Your apple tree is glorious and rich. The hum of bees makes all right in the world. A friend of mine wrote this very informative article about bees: https://www.myneworleans.com/plight-of-the-honeybee/
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I love these. They remind me of an old apple tree in my yard when I was a child. Maybe it was a place for warblers to refuel. I wonder.
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Being a “B” I am partial to bees with “pollen dusting bellies”, Catherine. This poem of presence reminds me to ‘let it bee’. 🙂
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Nice little poems. This time of year is always beautiful–I know for sure and am regularly reminded because my younger daughter’s birthday is April 27 and it is always gorgeous. The year she was born we had a nice run of hot weather in Michigan and I know we had her outside in the shade, sleeping in a diaper and t-shirt. Everything is blooming or leafing out here!
Alice Horning
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I think you’ve inspired me to move closer to the blooming apple trees. It’s been a busy week & I’ve barely been out. I do love watching bees & am in awe of the birds moving so determinedly toward their spring homes. I love the idea of ‘welcoming arms’. Have a nice weekend, Catherine.
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Just FYI — thanks to you, WRITING WILD is first up on my TBR stack for June 1!! (I’ll also be coming back to your NPM posts…)
Here’s to #poemsofpresence to take us through to the end of this very weird year!
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Lovely. Even though we in the south are sad about our warblers leaving us. Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
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These are a nice rest stop for me, Catherine–no apple trees close by around here, so I appreciate the change of scene. Fiona just read to me about another way that bees can serve the planet: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/scientists-may-have-found-a-new-coronavirus-rapid-testing-method-bees/ar-BB1gu5uT
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I love those “welcoming arms.” Thanks for taking the time to notice and then sharing that with us!
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Both of these are just lovely! I love how they both celebrate different aspects of apple trees.
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