Electric Bees

Cherry

By onemorething

Sat, 01 Aug 2020
  • 3516 reads
16 comments
 

We have all these words and

sometimes they are not enough

to convey a feeling, their meaning

smudged in a multitude of contexts.

But all the time we are giving and taking

electrons in charged contact

when we are together, the friction

of skin at low voltage or

the storms we sense in bristles.

Bees, too, galvanise in flight,

jolted by air to gravitate to the songs

of electric flowers: here nectar, no nectar,

their fine hair in triboelectrical reading

of blossomed signals. And a cabbage,

leaves ravaged by caterpillars 

will shout its chemical warning to others

so that they can change their flavour

and call for aid from hungry wasps.

I want to tell you to be quieter

because it seems that roots are speaking 

to one another in dark mysteries

underground: all this chatter

in multisensory exchange,

where this language is useless - 

what messages have we missed,

one organism to another,

I want to press my ear to the ground

to listen. 
 

Image is from pixabay. Also images on Twitter are here:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beekeeping

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beekeeping_on_stamps_of_Ukraine_2001.jpg

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Comments

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

What a fantastic poem Rachel. I too would love to put my ear to the earth and listen to those underground sounds, only problem is I'd never get back up. wink

I think your poem just about sums up the those message so alien to us, yet in the world of bees and other insects means so much.

Even humans can give out messages with expression, which I find it quite easy to read, though not so much now everyone is wearing face masks.

Any way your poem was right up my street.

Thank you for sharing.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by onemorething on

I'm really pleased you liked it, thanks for reading and your comment. And perhaps we should all put our ears to the ground and see what we can hear. Rachel :)

 

Submitted by Mark Say on

I like the way this creates a sustained fizz through the choice of words and imagery of the natural world at work. Good poem.

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Thanks Mark, am glad I managed to carry the electric theme through. 
 

Thanks for the cherries too. 

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Didn't know that about cabbages! very interesting :0) Learn more from your wonderful poems than biology at school. You are an amassador for Nature!

There was an interesting program about smell the other day? Apparently people adapt better to blindness than loss of smell? It can have terrible effect on self confidence and decision making, to a person's character. Which makes me think how much animals whose smell sense is better than any human, must know about EVERYTHING.

My partner was telling me about universal conciousness yesterday your poem reminds me of that

galvanise is a brilliant word for bees just getting ready to fly! Enjoyed your poem very much

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Well, I have only David Attenborough to thank for this one. I saw a segment about bees and electrical signals and then looked it up and read a bit about it. Yes, you're right about smell. I wonder what chemical signals we miss as a result of perfume and soap or whether we've adapted to it. I read an article the other day in the Guardian about a man who has stopped using all soap and perfume and thought about that then. Not that I am considering it personally... Am so interested in shared consciousness ideas, and yes bees definitely interesting in that regard, well, all colony insects. Thanks for reading and your comment, Di. Glad you liked it. :)

 

Submitted by littleditty on

word/idea for group dynamic -great poem x

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Thanks ld, glad you thought so. Triboelectrical is not a word I made up, it is the word for static electricity which is shared, in this case, between bees and flowers. The bees build static in flight which leaves them positively charged, they are attracted to flowers that are negatively charged and advertising through this that they have available pollen and nectar. Bee lands, pollen is almost magnetic to it. If the flower has already been visited the bee can sense this charge in the hairs on its body and come back later. The charge between them is triboelectric. I think I have that right anyway. And you may already know all this, but wanted to explain as I have nicked a science word. It did seem to suit bees too since they are a tribe of sorts. :)

 

Submitted by littleditty on

of noisy activity - smells and sounds in chemical/electrical transmissions, hive knows all, through all senses - i'm now thinking of blossoms and almonds and travelling circus bees! Nice. 

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Please write a poem about travelling circus bees! :) 

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

wow, didn't know that about positive and negatively charged flowers, either, is fascinating, thanks so much for all this extrapolating  (have never used that word before)

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Oh good, glad it's useful info, sometimes I worry that I extrapolate far too much... :)

 

Submitted by Penny4athought on

What a thoughtful, poetic reflection on life with a simply elegant accent on nature. Oh those messages we miss when we don’t stop and smell the flowers, watch the bees or see the leaves come alive on the trees where birds make their homes. We plod through our lives thinking only of the things we need to do and we miss so much of the life happening all around us. Thank you for this sensitive poem that nudges us to take notice. smiley

Penny4athought

Submitted by onemorething on

Thank you Penny! Am happy you liked it. I completely agree, always time to stop and look around you. Thanks for reading and your lovely comment. Rachel :)

 

Submitted by Stephen Thom on

'I want to tell you to be quieter ' feels like a keynote line. Beautiful poem, loved 'electrons in charged contact' and 'triboelectrical', a great talent yesyes

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Thanks Stephen. That's very kind feedback. Am happy you liked it. Triboelectric is such a good word isn't it, glad I strayed across it. Thanks for reading it. :)