The Ladybird and the Bumblebee

The Ladybird and the Bumblebee

You don’t scare me Mr Bumble bee

As you float with your clumsy precision,

I stroke your back and count your stripes,

You’re oblivious to my attention.

*

Miss Ladybird lands on my yellow shirt

And I fail to notice at first,

How she sits so still and does nothing but flirt

With my honourable trust as I count her spots.

*

The gorgeous masquerade begins as you tango, quickstep and waltz

With the dancing stems that lash you away,

Yet you stand your ground in this tempestuous fray,

With your loping arcs and semi circles

And a wistful, erratic grace.

*

There’s a red and black pallet upon your back

That delicately splits as you prepare for flight.

Did you paint the tulips and splash the poppies

With your primary shades as you flutter and fight

With this dangerous air that carries your presence,

On a flight path determined by nature and chance.

*

Your invisible wings that barter with the breeze

Make you hang in the air like a magic stone,

That floats and hovers and teases and flees

And then pouts and twists and leaves me alone

To remain transfixed at your prising and teasing

And your twitching flutter that I find so pleasing.

*

One red, one yellow, yet both of you black,

And the exquisite beauty that resides on your back.

Both presenting a busy, playful industry,

An intense and fussy, lovely mystery

That I could solve with just one day for me

As Miss Ladybird or Mr Bumblebee.

***