Now is the time of year we don’t see so many bees,
so I drive into town with the windows down,
no fear of a bee charging through the gap
to sting my face.                                   

I have always been afraid
of their angry venom
but now I have a swarm of bees
Sewn inside my skin.

Sometimes they sleep under my calves or in my feet
but mostly they buzz down my arms, behind my face
across my chest and when I’m stressed
in my shoulders, across my belly and from my waist down.

Sometimes the ice that trickles
from the top of my head
through my veins
catches their tiny legs.

If I lie down and pretend to sleep
The bees do too
but that’s no way to live
so I drive into town with the windows down.