Later Poems of Alexander Anderson "Surfaceman": Edited with a Biographical Sketch, by Alexander Brown: A New Edition |
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THE MESSAGE OF THE BEE. |
 | Later Poems of Alexander Anderson |  |
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THE MESSAGE OF THE BEE.
The humble bee is hiding
In the blossom's golden cells;
He, and he only, can tell me
Where the queen of the fairies dwells.
In the blossom's golden cells;
He, and he only, can tell me
Where the queen of the fairies dwells.
He is out on a royal message,
He has her high command
To bring his tribute of honey
To her table in fairyland.
He has her high command
To bring his tribute of honey
To her table in fairyland.
And this is why he is ranging
From blossom to blossom to-day;
He is busy making nectar
For the lips of elf and fay.
From blossom to blossom to-day;
He is busy making nectar
For the lips of elf and fay.
He will carry the golden treasure
To all their kith and kin,
To a bank in a wood where a portal
Will open to let him in.
To all their kith and kin,
To a bank in a wood where a portal
Will open to let him in.
This tiniest of portals
Lies hid as violets hide,
Two blue-bells stand as sentries,
They guard it on either side.
Lies hid as violets hide,
Two blue-bells stand as sentries,
They guard it on either side.
He will hum, as he enters, the password,
And they—they will nod in the sun,
Then stand again to their duty,
And this is all that is done.
And they—they will nod in the sun,
Then stand again to their duty,
And this is all that is done.
I, too, have seen this portal,
And a child can understand
That there is no other doorway
To the realms of fairyland.
And a child can understand
That there is no other doorway
To the realms of fairyland.
| Later Poems of Alexander Anderson | |