honeybee
by michael r. burch

love was a little treble thing—
prone to sing
and (sometimes) to sting

Keywords/Tags: love, bee, honeybee, treble, song, sing, singer, sting, stinger, barb, poison

Love
is the glowing flame,
and you melt
as it approaches

Listen,
be careful
with that flame,
or it’ll burn you
when that love
starts to sting

They’ll decide to leave you,
and you’ll remain with nothing,
but the fading ashes of that love  

You’ll lose the passing-by warmth
that once visited your frigid heart

So light up a cigarette,
and put out the ongoing fire
inside your chest with smoke

A honeybee stings hard.
It draws back its sword and speeds;
Did it harm itself?

your love stung,
the last time
i tried to
hold it tight

perhaps it was
poisoned by past lovers
and they've forgotten
to hand you the antidote

or maybe,
you've wrapped it
with sharp thorns;
like a wild garden
unexplored and afraid
to be trampled on

whatever it is,
it's spreading to me;
but i could tell
it's from the time
you broke my heart

on some days
I'm a piece of sandpaper -
rubbed and rubbed
until I'm raw and stinging,
until there's almost nothing left.

but there's a little corner
that doesn't sting,
that renews my hope,
that heals every part of me
until I'm whole again.

You mess me around
As if I am clay
Easily moldable
To your cold hands
But I am not clay.

You push me around
As if I am a joke
Laughed at
By your friends
But I am no joke.

You slap me and kick me
As if I am solid
But I will break
Just like glass
I am not that strong.

When you bully me,
When you hurt me,
It does more than just
Shatter my bones;
It shatters my heart

Because I still remember
Those days when we were
Friends,
Those days when we laughed
Together,
Those days when we made fun of
Others.

So when you push me around
As if I am a doll,
The betrayal
Stings more
Than the physical bruises.