Midmorning breaks with holy pilgrimage We don our veils and suit our vestments, Adrenaline will fill our veins, Fire brings an ancient smell, Prying open rich reserves Olivia Speed is a first-year International Relations and Global Studies major at the University of Texas. Interests include beekeeping, traveling, and writing about both.
Apis
up the hill toward the flowering grove,
where the makers stir inside their colony,
drones operating antsy droves.
purifying our duty with oppressive heat.
Open the gate with quiet reverence,
anxious for the ones we stoop to meet.
with deepened breath they sense intent,
with steel in hand we’ll steel ourselves
to steal the nectar heaven-sent.
the incense burns and fills the air.
We offer smoke and in return
they give the little they can spare.
the incorruptible honey flows.
We taste the fruit of hard-won labor,
fruit from seed that nature sows.About the Author