Published in Dreich
Bumblebee nest destroyed
They were probing
where the soil had swamped
their home, fat bodies
tremulous as newborn
foals, pointed toes
scrabbling at the silver
tilth, wings weighed down
with dust.
Could they hear
sounds in the rubble
underneath?
Whirs of panic?
How long
before silence?
What would the survivors
do with lives
free of obligation,
purposeless
itinerant fragments of a scheme
which whole, before,
was perfect?
They were probing
where the soil had swamped
their home, fat bodies
tremulous as newborn
foals, pointed toes
scrabbling at the silver
tilth, wings weighed down
with dust.
Could they hear
sounds in the rubble
underneath?
Whirs of panic?
How long
before silence?
What would the survivors
do with lives
free of obligation,
purposeless
itinerant fragments of a scheme
which whole, before,
was perfect?
