Handmade

                                                       Is this handmade? It's really nice.                    

Your skill and ability show.

Did you make that? It's so well done.

You really are a pro.

Handmade, you say? I'm quite impressed.

Your gift is evident;

And you have used such artistry!

Your talent's heaven-sent.

 

We get amazed and say as much

At the prowess artists employ

When they've created something

That others can enjoy.

So it shouldn't seem bizarre

Or be considered odd

That we, in our uniqueness,

Were each handmade by God.

 

© 2024 Teresa Miles Kephart

     

Spring

 

Spring bursts out 

Of the weather mold 

It's suddenly warm 

After weeks of cold 

Flowers pop up 

And the sky is blue, 

Demanding that 

We spring forth too 

Spring into things 

That need attention 

Spring out of those 

That just cause tension 

Clean out the old 

Bring in the new 

Embrace new life 

Bid winter adieu 

As seasons change 

Our outlook waves 

It ebbs and flows 

And makes us brave 

For spring is rich 

And full of hope 

As bees and pollen 

Fast elope 

There 's only time 

To reach beyond 

Launch high your kite 

And build your pond 

For spring comes once 

In each year's loop 

So bless its debut 

Upon your stoop 

Don't take it for granted 

It won't last long 

And will fade away 

In the throes of song

© 2024 Teresa Miles Kephart

Bees

 When I think of bees, I think of my dad. He had a true appreciation for them, and he even had a little "nursery-rhymy" ritual he would do when I was little - "The bumblebee from under the barn, with a stovepipe under his arm. Bzzzz!" And then he would tickle me under the arm of course. Dad loved honey too and was fascinated with the bee's ability and process in producing it. 

I have included one new (2024) poem and one from last year.

 

Honey-makers

Servants to the queen 

Pollinators 

On the scene 

Playin' their jazz 

Makin' honeycomb 

Feedin' the queen 

On her hivey throne 

Work, work, work 

No time is squandered 

Their uniforms are 

Perpetually laundered 

In black and yellow 

They keep the hive going 

And make sure honey 

Is always flowing

 

  © 2024 Teresa Miles Kephart
 

SECRET LIFE OF BEES

Perhaps it’s not a secret

That honeybees are busy.

But when you hear some of these facts,

It’s bound to make you dizzy.

The entire mood of the colony

Depends upon the queen.

She gives off a special pheromone

To set the stage and scene.

And really, it’s no wonder

If sometimes she’s in a mood—

She can lay up to 3,000 eggs in a day.

That’s quite an impressive brood!

Worker bees care to her every need,

But no “Long live the queen” is spoken.

Most queen bees live about two years,

And then a new leader’s awoken.

Baby queens feast on royal jelly

To grow reproductive means.

A colony can have 60,000 bees.

That’s a lot of potential queens!

If the hive gets too crowded,

The queen takes some drones elsewhere

To start a brand new colony,

While a new queen takes over there.

As for honey, it’s quite amazing—

The nectar from flowers is stored

Within a second stomach,

Then passed around the horde.

The bees each chew a half-hour,

Which may sound kind of funny.

But once they’re all done chewing,

The nectar turns to honey!

The honey is stored in honeycomb cells,

Each one like a waxen cup.

The bees then flap their wings over it

To thicken the honey up.

The bees make honey for themselves,

So to take it seems kind of rude;

But in truth they make two to three times

What they need for survival food.

So when you’re enjoying some honey,

Consider the bees who make haste

To produce ample portions in beehives

So we all can enjoy the sweet taste.

© 2023, Teresa Miles Kephart