The Song of the Queen Bee
by Irene Strange
In the hive, I softly dance
amid them all, I buzz and prance.
Go, my friends, my worker bees,
fly and seek till your hearts ease.
To the gardens you must fly
to capture sweetness for you and I.
Flit your wings and glide away
to flower blossoms all the day.
Pollen and nectar shower on you
gently in the morning dew.
Buzz, buzz, as you sing your praise
then swiftly homeward bound you gaze.
Carrying and crafting is sweet fascination
as you flit to and fro in deep pollination,
bring back your loads, fresh and more
to make us honey for our store
and in return, you will see
each one may buzz and dance with me –
your one and only:
your Queen Bee.
Inspiration: I was strolling along the pathways through the Southsea Greenhouse gardens at Canoe Lake, Southsea, watching the honey bees as they flitted to and fro gathering pollen from the flowers on the growing vegetable plants in the gardens. I saw these honey bees disappear into a specially constructed hole high in the wall of the Butterfly House in the Cumberland House Natural History Museum. Inside, a beehive is screened off where live footage of the honey bees can be seen as they enter and exit the hive, endeavouring to provide protein for the developing bee larvae.
Though now retired, Irene Strange has been many things: a member of the WRAF, secretary of the Chartered Bank of England in Aden, and a town councillor for Southsea Town Council. She opened the English Division of the Libyan Broadcasting Service in Benghazi and was a journalist on the Benghazi Daily Newspaper. She recently published the book ‘Floating My Balloon’.