The Bee-Man of Orn online.
Or look at another magical edition,
beautifully illustrated by P. J. Lynch
"When I first catch sight of a bee tree I am drawn toward it.
I know not how. Something says to me:
'That is what you are looking for.' "
In keeping with my favorite theme of literary coincidences in daily life, these two works were suggested to me on the same day by two different and very creative friends. Steven recommended The Bee-Man of Orn; and Jan sent along "The Bees" by Audre Lorde (see Ink & Pixel, #6).
The Bees
In the street outside a school
what the children learn
possesses them.
Little boys yell as they stone a flock of bees
trying to swarm
between the lunchroom window and an iron grate.
The boys sling furious rocks
smashing the windows.
The bees, buzzing their anger,
are slow to attack.
Then one boy is stung
into quicker destruction
and the school guards come
long wooden sticks held out before them
they advance upon the hive
beating the almost finished rooms of wax apart
mashing the new tunnels in
while fresh honey drips
down their broomsticks
and the little boy feet becoming expert
in destruction
trample the remaining and bewildered bees
into the earth.
Curious and apart
four little girls look on in fascination
learning a secret lesson
and trying to understand their own destruction.
One girl cries out
“Hey, the bees weren’t making any trouble!”
and she steps across the feebly buzzing ruins
to peer up at the empty, grated nook
“We could have studied honey-making!”
by Audre Lorde (1934 - 92)
It is unfortunate that Lorde stereotypes by gender; however, looking past that flaw, the final line of compassion and cooperation is truly inspiring: “We could have studied honey-making!”
It goes along with what I thought was going to happen when the Bee-Man runs back to get his hive and throws it at the dragon. I thought the Bee-Man was going to calm the dragon by offering him honey, and then the dragon would calmly relinquish the baby in exchange for honey.
I also predicted that the Bee-Man was ultimately going to request being changed into a Bee as his true original form! But -- spoiler alert -- becoming a baby and re-growing back into his same old self is also a good twist!
As Denise Levertov says:
" . . . nothing we do has the quickness, the sureness,
the deep intelligence living at peace would have."
If living at peace was all we had, we could study honey-making
-- and so much more!
Remember the song: “If Peace Was All We Had”
See also:
A Song for MLK Day
Think Globally & Bee-Man
Kitti! what a wonderful edition about bees and peace! I was not familiar with the Bee Man of Orn. I wasn’t familiar with the song either. Oh…I do love the metaphor of honey making.
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