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Light Shadows

a poem inspired by an image of beekeepers based in Tinúm, Yucatán, Mexico

By Kayla Frances MurrayPublished 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago 2 min read
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I once almost wore a veil

into forests of burnt umber

and sea

with the son of a Mexican migrant

smoke rose from a bougainvillea-print

kettle

honey helped settle what steeping didn’t

sleeping did not

smoke dissipated as flames went out

from gaslit stove

gaslit woman

forests still intact

branches skyward

agape

gathering and collecting

sunlight and yellow blessings

I once got stung by a bee

my hands a veil of shame

knowing death

didn’t take me

helicopter seeds and running feet

saltwater and grassmarks

glyphosate-free

gyrated me to mother

Goddess of gestation, of seven years

my inflammatory soul

inflammation

left cheek

birdseye

my reflection left asymmetrical

crooked smile

but different from his

I once gave birth to my flower child

Beatriz

Violet crown

his child, too

but ownership cannot be applied to what is wild

my personal world

headfirst entrance, bright cries

upside down

Ah Muzen Cab

God of bees and honey

thank you

oak trees are

our foot-pedaled playgrounds

liquid sunlight bathes us

shadows of branches

veil us

cloudless sulfur butterflies travel

Bulgarian monarchs, too

I now wonder what it’s like to peek

from the base of a flower

through silver wings of a honeybee

through to personal fulfillment

or what it’s like

to not be in a mental fog

and to be guided by

smoke

misty curvature

inside a log that’s just been cut open

by an apiarist

old practices

or to lose footing

on the edge

of burnt umber and sea forests and

of what’s just been burnt

humility

veiled heroes in off-yellow jackets

on ancient land

ancient souls

soulful yearning

martyrs for woods

martyrs for monarchs

martyrs for honeybees

mothers, girls

my child

little creatures (besides varroa mites)

even him--

blessings

liquid sunshine on my wounds

interpretations are fluid underneath

shade

and with a grounded base.

nature poetry
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About the Creator

Kayla Frances Murray

🙞 Southeastern US-based writer/poetess 🙜

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