Poem

I have a poem in Amethyst Review, the second one that has appeared there recently. Although I don’t usually comment on what I have written, I do sometimes like to provide a little background. This poem is inspired by my love of bees, but its symbolism also comes from the words found in the second advent sermon of St. Bernard of Clairvaux concerning Jesus: “Our bee feeds among lilies, and dwells in the flowery country of the angels. This bee flew down to the city of Nazareth, the meaning of which may be interpreted as ‘a blossom;’ He came to the sweet-smelling flower of perpetual virginity; He settled upon it, remained with it.” I was also thinking of St. Ambrose of Milan, who compared the beehive to the church and the bee to the individual Christian, because of the bees’ reputation for diligence, vigilance, modesty, zeal, and dedication to the hive. Interestingly, the beehive is a symbol of both St. Bernard and St. Ambrose, as their eloquence was compared to the sweetness of honey.