‘In an Unfinished Honeycomb: An Old Story’ and Other Poetry by Barbara Bates The Society December 7, 2016 Beauty, Human Rights in China, Poetry 2 Comments In an Unfinished Honeycomb: An Old Story As lichen on a rock expands, so you grow in love on the lap of your mother until — smothering her presence you burst aglow into green adolescence. Seldom still, you run before the bulls, climb peaks, favor dreams to feed your striving. Oh saboteur of mild, homespun days! Consider the core work of bees, how they nourish our lusting yet protect our prey. Just as dying leaves feed the bulbs of flowers long past their bloom, the humble bee waxes the circle, relieves prodigals with salving honey, importunes the queen who fills wellsprings with the only breath that can move her wings. On Looking into Post-Modern China After Reading Keats’ Ode on Melancholy On the Delta, a constant din — hammer on metal, hacksaw on iron. Bare feet in oil, children haul black gold from tankers, odor of naphthol. Our guide protests my camera. I assure him of its filter: coal pyramids will become kings’ tombs, gray smog, storm on the horizon. On the Yangtze, eight hundred thousand people with pick ax and shovel are burying their homes. An old woman sews. She sits on her stoop pulling thread through cloth while the river coups her feet, lap, hand holding the needle. Ah . . Beauty that must die, In this fevered war against your return, why hasten so your demise? NOTE: The Society considers this page, where your poetry resides, to be your residence as well, where you may invite family, friends, and others to visit. Feel free to treat this page as your home and remove anyone here who disrespects you. Simply send an email to mbryant@classicalpoets.org. Put “Remove Comment” in the subject line and list which comments you would like removed. The Society does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or comments and reserves the right to remove any comments to maintain the decorum of this website and the integrity of the Society. Please see our Comments Policy here. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) 2 Responses G. M. H. Thompson December 7, 2016 I like “On Looking into Post-Modern China” quite a bit– it is very well executed free verse. Contrary to popular opinion, sonnets don’t actually have to have rigid meter, although they, on average, fare better when they do. Your poem demonstrates that free verse sonnets can be as expressive and interesting than their more popular formalist cousins. And I also like the rich industrial imagery employed. Very well done. Reply Ruth December 9, 2016 Interesting reading, with a potent elegiac atmosphere. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
G. M. H. Thompson December 7, 2016 I like “On Looking into Post-Modern China” quite a bit– it is very well executed free verse. Contrary to popular opinion, sonnets don’t actually have to have rigid meter, although they, on average, fare better when they do. Your poem demonstrates that free verse sonnets can be as expressive and interesting than their more popular formalist cousins. And I also like the rich industrial imagery employed. Very well done. Reply