George Elliott Clarke (1960-)
King Bee Blues
1I'm an ol' king bee, honey,
2Buzzin' from flower to flower.
3I'm an ol' king bee, sweets,
4Hummin' from flower to flower.
5Women got good pollen;
6I get some every hour.
7There's Lily in the valley
8And sweet honeysuckle Rose too;
9There's Lily in the valley
10And sweet honeysuckle Rose too.
11And there's pretty black-eyed Susan,
12Perfect as the night is blue.
13You don't have to trust
14A single, black word I say.
15You don't have to trust
16A single, black word I say.
17But don't be surprised
18If I sting your flower today.
Online text copyright © 2009, Ian Lancashire (the Department of English) and the University of Toronto.
This poem cannot be published anywhere without the written consent of George Elliott Clarke or the Polestar Book permissions department.
Published by the Web Development Group, Information Technology Services, University of Toronto Libraries.
Original text: Whylah Falls (Vancouver: Polestar Book Publishers, 1990): 50.
RPO poem editor: Ian Lancashire
RP edition: 2004
Recent editing: 1:2004/7/22
Form: sestets
Rhyme: abcbdb, ababdb, ababcb
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