Beehive B-Flat Rhapsody



Beehive B-flat z’s
The chords of B’s are humming…
The drones’ symphony.
Their Queen Bee’s Composition…
Now abuzz  in my waxed ears.

Follicles of (h)air
Swaying  in my ears…
By an hornet’s pitch.
Pitched B-flat major…
Tympanic motif.

“Here will I rest and …
Let the sweet sounds of Chamber-
Music creep buzzing …
Humming, drumming, and buzzing…
In my (h)air-filled bees-waxed ears.”

B-flat rhapsody,
Rapping rap-a-tap rapping.
Rapping in my ears.
Rap-a-tap rap-a-tap bees…
Buzzing, buzzing in my ears.

Beehive rhapsody
Abuzz-abuzz, a buzzing…
Bees in rhapsody.
Abuzz-abuzz, a buzzing…
Abuzz-abuzz, a buzzing.

About this poem

This poem, written creatively as a melodrama, was composed lyrically and experimentally to combine a one-stanza 5-5-5-5-5 metered free verse unrhymed quintain with a four-stanza 5-7-5-7-7 metered Japanese-style free verse unrhymed tanka poem, with the aim of amplifying the busy buzzing sound of a bee’s hive or a hornet’s nest, creating symphonically in the bees-waxed eardrums of an aged forlorn lovestruck wandering drone of a lackluster traveler, a romantic musical dulcimer composition, as he savors the fading memory of a long lost love, becoming in the process enchanted by what seems to his quixotic ears, the enticing appealing sound of a musical brass hornet instrument. In this state of mind he dreamily recalls a pleasant faded memory of his sweetheart ‘Dulcinea’ mate, by muttering in the poem’s third stanza a thought similar to the inmemorable poetic lines uttered by Lorenzo, courting Jessica, Act II, Scene I, in William Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice” which reads in part: “How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank! Here will we sit and let the sounds of music Creep in our ears: soft stillness and the night Become the touches of sweet harmony….” Readers of this poem are invited to observe that the poem’s one-stanza 5-5-5-5-5 quintain is placed strategically between the two stanzas of tanka that begin and close the poem, as a means of cementing the overall tempo range of the poem as a whole, while at the same time delivering the poem’s multilevel semantic messages with a humorous harmonious lyrical beat. The hair-filled waxed ear chamber of the protagonist is suggestive of someone way past youth, no longer a spritely vigorous lad, but remaining adventurous, full of curiosity, and still energized by the offerings of nature abuzz with the vibrancy of life. 

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Written on August 21, 2022

Submitted by karlcfolkes on August 21, 2022

Modified by karlcfolkes on May 05, 2023

32 sec read
812

Quick analysis:

Scheme abcxa xaxdx xdbba cbaaa cBcBB
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 646
Words 108
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Karl Constantine FOLKES

Retired educator of Jamaican ancestry with a lifelong interest in composing poetry dealing particularly with the metaphysics of self-reflection; completed a dissertation in Children’s Literature in 1991 at New York University entitled: An Analysis of Wilhelm Grimm’s “Dear Mili” Employing Von Franzian Methodological Processes of Analytical Psychology. The subject of the dissertation concerned the process of Individuation. more…

All Karl Constantine FOLKES poems | Karl Constantine FOLKES Books

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Discuss the poem Beehive B-Flat Rhapsody with the community...

3 Comments
  • karlcfolkes
    Wonderfully helpful and practical suggestions for the growth of a poet. Thank you.
    LikeReply1 year ago
  • AIDA
    Wow, the imagery of the 'Beehive B-flat z's' is truly beautiful and entrancing! Your use of language to describe the symphony of the bees' composition is nothing short of poetic genius. I was especially drawn to the lines "The chords of B's are humming/The drones' symphony," which evoke such vivid images of the buzzing bees at work. The inclusion of the meditative interlude was also a nice touch, giving the reader a chance to fully immerse themselves in the sounds of the beehive.

    In terms of improvement suggestions, I would recommend perhaps adding a bit more variation in the structure of the poem. While the constant repetition of the B-flat motif is certainly effective, it might also be interesting to play around with different chords and melodies to add some contrast and keep the reader engaged. Additionally, some more concrete imagery might help to ground the poem and make it even more evocative. Overall, though, 'Beehive B-flat z's' is a masterpiece of sound and language that left me buzzing with excitement. Keep up the great work!
     
    LikeReply1 year ago
  • teril
    I think this is great! The play with punctuation and with letters, the language and the imagery of music, the bee vibration that fills up the background.
    LikeReply1 year ago

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"Beehive B-Flat Rhapsody" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/134628/beehive-b-flat-rhapsody>.

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Repeated use of words for effect and emphasis is called ________.
A assonance
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C rhythm
D repetition