Nectar
The hottest day so far. A bee
fizzes outside the open window.
Andy asks who’d like to start.
Ken says his dad used a hammer
and shows us the scar on his scalp.
Morag says that’s no excuse
for self-pity, she’s had far worse
and anyway scars heal, but
the voices in her head won’t shut up,
she needs to go home, tidy the larder,
re-arrange all the tins and jars – size,
content, shade, texture, date.
Peter says she should do what he’s done,
ask the Lord to cast out demons,
fill her brim-full with the Spirit.
Andy chews a finger-nail. The bee
scrapes its back legs and watches,
waiting for me to rise from my chair,
wrap my legs around its belly, plunge
to the nearest rose-bed. Andy asks
if there’s anything I’d like to say.
I’d like to say drink and nectar
but the words swell in my throat,
the bee vibrates and zooms away.
Time’s up; we drift into the garden
and tilt our faces to the sun.
Beyond the wall there’s a hive; honey.
Page(s) 21
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