the bees and flowers turn on me - j. j. steinfeld

I won’t give it to you for free

the flowers say to the bumble bee

ventriloquist bees hiding nearby

throwing their buzz and deception

as angry as a bumble bee

short changed on pollen

lied to by a flower

and a hundred other bees

all claiming innocence

dripping pollen.

I won’t give it to you for free

the flowers say to the bumble bee

ventriloquist bees hiding nearby

throwing their buzz and deception

as angry as a bumbling fool

stung by an innocent bee

on the way to paradise

so many wrong turns

that the bee sting

is merely a reminder

of the Nature’s unease.   

I won’t give it to you for free

the flowers say to the bumble bee

ventriloquist bees hiding nearby

throwing their buzz and deception.

I attempt to throw my voice

I attempt to sample some pollen

I attempt to become something else

for this poem: a virtuoso of onomatopoeia

the bees and the flowers turn on me

my efforts ill-rewarded

next time I’ll attempt a flightless creature

one with a tinge of sadness

and a simpler song.

Canadian poet, fiction writer, and playwright J. J. Steinfeld lives on Prince Edward Island, where he is patiently waiting for Godot’s arrival and a phone call from Kafka. While waiting, he has published 24 books, including An Unauthorized Biography of Being (Stories, Ekstasis Editions, 2016), Absurdity, Woe Is Me, Glory Be (Poetry, Guernica Editions, 2017), A Visit to the Kafka Café (Poetry, Ekstasis Editions, 2018), Gregor Samsa Was Never in The Beatles (Stories, Ekstasis Editions, 2019), Morning Bafflement and Timeless Puzzlement (Poetry, Ekstasis Editions, 2020), Somewhat Absurd, Somehow Existential (Poetry, Guernica Editions, 2021), Acting on the Island (Stories, Pottersfield Press, 2022), and As You Continue to Wait (Poetry, Ekstasis Editions, 2022).