For bees, the flower is the fountain of life; For flowers, the bee is the messenger of love.
Kahlil Gibran
Blossom to Bee
Come to me,
my nectar is sweet-
my fine filament caressing.
harvest my pollen,
I have plenty
for your beloved queen -
plenty for you
to scatter.
I cannot move
beyond this ground-
please carry my love,
carry my song,
I cannot speak without you
come,
drink deeply,
and help me.
Bee to the Blossom
I fly to you,
you draw me in -
your scent is intoxicating.
I see the beauty of your soft petals,
feel the electricity
of your desire.
I will sip your nourishing nectar,
and collect these offered grains
on the tender hairs of my body.
Some I will keep
to feed my hive,
the rest I will carry
across the flowering fields
spreading your love
and though you can’t move
beyond this ground
your song will continue-
I will fly for you.
I’ve been interested in bees and their symbiotic relationship with flowers for a few years now, but this week I actually took the time to read fairly deeply into the way this works. Most bees live in hives of some sort (but not all - there are many species of bee!) The hive’s worker bees (all female) collect for the entire colony - they drink and gather nectar for the adults in the hive and pollen for the feeding of new broods. While they are gathering, they move from flower to flower, releasing some of the pollen as they move, which fertilizes the other plants or flowers they encounter. Without them, many food plants would not be able to produce fruits or vegetables.
I am so filled with wonder at how interconnected everything is on this planet. Without bees, we would not survive. That is a crazy and humbling thought. No wonder John Muir once said, “When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
Here are some links for a deeper exploration, if you are interested:
Why do bees need pollen and nectar?
How do flowers and bees help each other?
The article that really blew me away was the one about bees and their ability to sense a flower’s electric field:
Bees Can Sense Electric Fields of Flowers
Thank you so much for being here. See you next week!