NPD Poem of the Day – Mind That Sickle! by David C Johnson

Liz Brownlee ♦ September 12, 2016 ♦ 1 Comment

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Todays wonderful message poem comes from poet and artist David C Johnson, of Bristol.

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Mind that Sickle!

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I had just finished my shift.

I’d been buzzing all day

And was looking forward to putting up my feet,

All six, back home, down in my shaft.

When you came along with your crashing,flashing sickle.

“Just tidying up”, I think ,is what you call it,

But a blooming menace from my point of view.

Swoosh your blade swished,

As it roughly wrecked our patch

And revealed the adits to our home.

Really, you need to take more care

With that awful slicing blade.

We bees, of all types,

In this world that we share,

Are finding life hard enough, as it is.

What with parasites and pesticides

And the vanishing of countryside.

We can do without you swinging

That pesky scythe, as well.

In fact, all that we want,

Is a corner  left untouched,

In your garden. It is not asking much.

We know that it may look a bit unkempt to you,

But to us it is an Eden, a perfect purlieu.

So think before you tidy and leave some wild for us,

Because plants need bees and you need the plants.

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(P.S. I have copied this to my local representative

at the National Union of Miner Bees ( Bristol section)

In case further action is necessary in the future).

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© David C Johnson

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Poem © David C Johnson

Image © Steve Begin, shown by this Creative Commons License.