X
by Sylvia Clark
Every year,
carpenter bees return
to their woodwork,
expanding the cracks
in the carport rafters,
like ice
to a stone,
like the pitted, filled cavities
of the rough quilt cement entrance.
But do the bees know wood
from what we rely on?
Do they not have their own constructions?
Do they know beam
from crucifix,
tree
from church?
Any good carpenter does.
But do they?
In actuality,
every carpenter bee is holy,
as holy as honey,
as holy as the lion's skull,
the carports like the emaciated remains
of a beast.
In this Rust Belt town,
carpenter bees are oxygen.
Truly,
within every pollination
lies the power
for inspiration,
and
with decay
in every baby's breath,
we carve
into what was never ours
to begin
with,
what we call home.
Continue Reading
American BeaverKatie Daley
Painted TurtleRebekah Ainsworth
Green DarnerMarion Boyer
Eastern Screech-OwlDr. R. Ray Gehani
Spring PeeperBarbara Sabol
Eastern Carpenter BeeSylvia Clark
Jacob's LadderRisha Nicole
Candleflame LichenClara Britton
Eastern NewtElizabeth Ryan
American BullfrogLaura Grace Weldon
American ChestnutCarrie George
American GoldfinchMarybeth Cieplinski
American Giant MillipedeMary Quade
American HornbeamJeff Gundy
American White WaterlilyGeoffry Polk
Artist’s BracketSusann Moeller
Banded Fishing SpiderCharlie Malone
BluegillOlivia Farina
Common Star-of-BethlehemBrita Alaburda
Common StonefliesKaren Schubert
Eastern ChipmunkNathan Kemp
Eastern Tent Caterpillar MothZachary Thomas
Eastern Red-backed SalamanderTovli Simiryan
Firefly BeetleJacquie Peoples Dukes
Gray CatbirdTheresa Brightman
Great MulleinLaurie Kincer
Green HeronPaula J. Lambert
HepaticaAmanda Schuster
Interrupted FernKathleen Cerveny
Jack-in-the-PulpitMichael Buebe
Meadow VoleRoberta Jupin
Monarch ButterflyDeborah Fleming
MuskratCatherine Wing
Pearl CrescentMonica Kaiser
Poison HemlockJon Conley
Red-Headed Ground BeetleBob King
Star JelliesCameron Gorman
Sugar MapleSteve Brightman
Turkey VultureLaura Grace Weldon
White-footed MouseMichelle Bissell
White-tailed DeerBenjamin Rhodes
Wild CarrotJessica Jones
ABOUT
Traveling Stanzas community arts projects bring poetry to people’s everyday lives through innovative methods and digital platforms.