The foundress
begins
builds a stalk,
attaches a few cells
first laying daughter eggs,
future workers to grow
the paper-wasp nest
Pulp chewed with saliva
yields soft, see-through
paper shades of pewter
smoke, driftwood
Layer upon layer shedding
raindrops
Each nest a colony,
each member’s role
known, scripted
cooperative
fulfilled
So unlike freedom's
sometime price
chaos
"Each nest a colony,
each member’s role
known, scripted
cooperative
fulfilled"
I really love this part. Reading this poem feels like being immersed in a much smaller world for just a moment. Wonderful!
Every cell beautifully built, Didi. The contrast between nature's script and our chaotic freedom is deeply moving. A wonderful poem.