The Bee’s Knees

The Bee’s Knees

Great hairy knees bees have as they squat

in the flowers then push off with a spring,

all six knees pumping and shoving.

With so much power they’re soon airborne, resilient, muscular, adrift.

The bee’s knees.

Brilliant.

George Szirtes

Bees

Bees

Bees

have small furry pelts

hard to keep from getting sticky.

Their languages

are dance and telepathy.

Inside each bee

is delicate machinery

a noisy watch mechanism.

Some kamikaze freely for the Empress.

Others, at the end, look back with pride

on an 8 oz jar in the supermarket.

Peter Goldsworthy

Spelling Bees

Spelling Bees

In the hive at the bottom

Of the garden live 26 bees

I have named each one

After a letter of the alphabet

A swarm is unreadable

But when they land on flowers to refuel

Or settle on the lawn to sunbathe

They spell out words like these:

sprodxk, ytplinew, hucadtr,

zdikql, wlhurbd, xseznm

It’s a difficult language

The language of bees.

Roger McGough

Poetry

Poetry

poetry don’t have to be

living in a library

there’s poetry that you can see

in the life of everybody,

a lick of paint’s the kind of thing I mean

a lick of paint’s a lovely piece of writing

the tongue of the paintbrush

giving something drab

a dab new sheen

a lick of paint’s exciting.

there are folk who like to see

Latin in their poetry

and plenty of obscurity

me for instance

(only joking)

how I like to listen to the lingo

in bingo

legs eleven

clickety-click

a lick of paint

no – sorry that ain’t one

poetry – language on a spree

I want to be

a leaf on the poetree

poetry is good for me

I think I’ll have some for my tea

John Hegley

The Uncertainty of the Poet

The Uncertainty of the Poet

I am a poet.

I am very fond of bananas.

I am bananas.

I am very fond of a poet.

I am a poet of bananas.

I am very fond,

A fond poet of ‘I am, I am’ –

Very bananas,

Fond of ‘Am I bananas,

Am I?’ – a very poet.

Bananas of a poet!

Am I fond? Am I very?

Poet bananas! I am.

I am fond of a ‘very’.

I am of very fond bananas.

Am I a poet?

Wendy Cope

OIC

OIC

I’m in a 10der mood today

& feel poetic, 2;

4 fun I’ll just – off a line

& send it off 2 U.

I’m sorry you’ve been 6 o long;

Don’t B disconsol8;

But bear your ills with 42de,

& they won’t seem so gr8.

Anon.

The WOW!

The WOW!

If History is the When?

And Science the How?

If Philosophy is the Why?

Then Poetry is the Wow!

Roger McGough

Travel

Travel

The railroad track is miles away,

And the day is loud with voices speaking,

Yet there isn’t a train goes by all day