These leavened bees,

         this world
hung in concert between, from stem
to hive, each hum touched

         with sibling sadness,

tethered
         to a diminishing life, bid

to and from.

Worn, the shantung
         of them: breathless forms
shuttling through sunlight,

glistening
         between bud and home.

         How loyally they hold their
vigil, speechless as heirs

         pacing a marbled hall,
                   weighing the falling

pulse of the monarch.