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Poem: “Purple Hearts”

2017 January 12
by Mike Vial

“Purple Hearts”

Was it Atticus
who said,
“Shoot all
the blue jays
you want…”?
In Michigan,
you may now
aim your rifle
at a gray wolf;
but let those
rusty patched
bumblebees
be! I hiked
off trail and
cupped an ear
to capture
the busy buzz
of their bodies,
nature’s secret
password,
within the late
perennial asters
spread across
a clearing like
purple hearts.
Without notice,
a gunshot cracked
in the distance.
Then, howls—
a pack, but
no swarm.

Jan. 12, 2017
NPR: “US Puts Bumblebee on the Endangered Species List

Taken by: mwms1916 https://www.flickr.com/photos/mmwm/ bumblebee on purple aster, 14 Oct 2014

CC photo courtesy of mwms1916 on Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mmwm/
bumblebee on purple aster, 14 Oct 2014

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