Busy as a Bee
She pranced like a tethered pony
Held just out of reach of a carrot
By the fraying hemp rope on her halter.
A little boy taunted her with the treat
As she strained and s t r a i n e d against the tether,
Her every muscle screaming,
But her teeth still closed on air.
She fluttered like the humming bird,
Flitting from flower to flower
To sip each sweet blossom's nectar.
Her wings were tireless engines,
At speeds that make the cheetah envy,
Levering up, CRASHing down,
Until they ran out of steam.
She toiled like the industrious termite
Through rock and soil and mud,
Slave to a singular will and purpose.
The hive queen gave her orders
Which she dared not disobey.
Incapable of independent thought,
She was as busy as a bee.
She's not so busy now, is she?
-=-=-=-
The first two stanzas are my favorite, though the second to last line is what inspired the rest of the poem.
[Edit] The phrase "busy as a bee" was first used to refer to housewives, and is still used often in this context. Applying this to the poem, does it change the meaning any?
