Bumble Bee
by Betty Blair

From Azerbaijan International, Spring 2004 (AI 12.1)
This magazine which contains the English translations of 26 Azerbaijani writers may be ordered at AZER.com - AI STORE

(Baku, Summer 2003)

I remember my first fear.
I was a child
And loved to run barefoot
In the clovered grass
In the small village
Of my Tennessee home.

The sting of a bumblebee
Was my first remembered fear.
And I would run off, flying to my mother's arms,
Crying.
Together, we would pull the stinger out.

But these days, my world is crowded with fears
Fears of natural disasters-
Winds, floods, earthquakes, sun
Fears of man's negligence like airplane crashes.
Fears of corruption
Fears of a knock at the door
In the middle of the night.
Fears of illness-some chronic disease,
Gnawing away at my flesh.
Epidemics.
Fear of intrusion,
Of shock and abruptness.
Fear of losing those whom I love most.

Oh, where is my bumble bee?
How I wish I could trade in all the fears
Of my world today,
For my bumble bee of yesteryear.


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